Trouble in Paradise
by Shirley007
Summary: Takes place 8 years after BD. Life should be wonderful for Edward. His beautiful Bella by his side, his daughter full grown and a part of one big happy family. But what happens when bad things start to happen all around them? All EPOV
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Twilight**

**This is a story I had written on 'Addicted to Twilight'.**

**I decided to post it on fanfiction as well.**

**It takes place 8 years after the BD.**

**Is written entirely in EPOV.**

**Hope you'll like it.**

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"I don't want to go to school, dad. Why can't I just stay home with Jacob?" Nessie shrieked in a high pitched voice. I tried to calm her down, but it didn't seem to help much. So I left her room, having my final say.  
"You're going to school with the rest of us and that's final!" I yelled.

I knew it wasn't fair to her, she had been spoiled rotten and never had to interact with humans, except for her grandparents and some of Jacob's tribe. But that was different. They all knew who we were and that we were different. When she was still in her growing spurth, me and my family went to school and left her with Esme and Jacob, but now it was time for her to join the charade. She wouldn't grow anymore and she looked the same age as me.

We just moved to Bellingham, Washington. Bella and Jacob didn't want to be too far away from Forks. Bellingham was about 175 miles from Forks, so Jacob could hear when his pack needed him and Bella wanted to be able to take Nessie to Charlie over the weekends. Carlisle and I kept pushing them to come to England with us, but they had been unmoveable.  
And ofcourse I couldn't refuse my lovely wife if she tried to dazzle me, although she still didn't totally believe she had that effect on me.

_**BASTARD!**_ Nessie's mental shriek broke my thoughts and I hissed from the living room.  
'Mind your tongue, young lady!' I yelled out to her.

_**KEEP TO YOUR THOUGHTS THEN!**_

I ran out of the house, I could really use the speed to clear my head.  
Maybe I could hunt a little at the same time, you never know what glorious smells I would encounter tomorrow.  
After bagging myself some deer, I ran back home. The stench of dog lingered on the porch. Great, that's all I needed now. A puppy in love, siding with Nessie on whatever she wanted. If he was going to give me any trouble today, I was surely sending him home to La Push. Wasn't it enought I held up with his stench stinking up the whole house? Then I heard the most beautiful voice on this world, it belonged to the most beautiful face as well.  
My wife, my love, my Bella.

'Ofcourse, you understand, Jake. I knew you would. And it makes me very happy that you are still my best friend and not Nessie's lap dog.' I heard them both laughing, but I also heard the silent grumbling of my daughter.  
So she had lost the argument. Jacob chose to side with Bella. That was a suprise to me, but then again, he did truly love Bella as well. Not in the same way as my little Nessie ofcourse, but sometimes I could catch him eyeing us jealously. If it hadn't been for Nessie, we might have ended up killing each other over Bella. My Nessie truly was a God's gift to everyone she ever met.

* * *

The next morning Alice came whirling in our room, with a childlike enthusiasm.  
"Come on, you guys. School's starting in an hour. Everyone's ready besides you two." I pulled the sheet over my wife's naked body and eyed her suspiciously.  
"That's not why you came bouncing in here, is it?" I asked hesitantly

_**Oh, it's going to be great. Nessie is really excited to go.**_

Her thoughts were honest, but still I looked at her suspicious.

'She's been fluttering around all morning, go see for yourself if you don't believe me' Alice said in an mused voice.  
What could have brought this on, I thought to myself, but my curiousity was to great. I threw off the sheets to hurry downstairs.

_**UGH EDWARD, PUT SOME CLOTHES ON PLEASE!**_ Alice screamed at me in her mind.

I turned around quickly and flew in the closet, to put on some clothes.  
I threw a long pink dress on the bed for Bella, but she just eyed it in disgust.  
As soon I was dressed, Alice flew in besides me.  
'Allow me' she smiled wryly, while she picked out a dark blue dress for my wife. It was low cut and very short.  
Oh sure, and she'll like that, I thought to myself, but to my surprise Bella smiled and put it on without a second thought.

When we finally got downstairs, Nessie was bouncing on her chair.  
'Come on, Mom, Dad, we really have to go now.' She said with an enthusiastic smile.  
I still couldn't believe it. Why the fight yesterday, if she was so happy to go?  
My little family took my trusty Volvo, while my siblings drove to school in Emmett's jeep. We sped on the way to school, while Nessie kept chatting away about all the friends she was going to make.  
At a certain point it just got to much to bare, I turned to face her.  
'Sweetie, we can't draw to much attention to ourselves, remember?  
You are daddy and mommy's sister now and people who get close to you, might notice the differences. You really have to be carefull.' I told her silently.

_**But mommy had friends, while she dated you**_

'Yes but mommy was completely human back then and the humans didn't come to close to us. There seemed to be an line between us that nobody could see.' She looked at me in defiance and I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep her from having friends.

Emmett stood at the door of the school, waving at us.  
'We already got your shedules from the front desk' he said victorious 'it looks like you and Bella have all your classes together and Nessie gets to stay with me' he absolutely beamed while he said the last part.  
'So Nessie, you ready?' he asked while he planted a little kiss on her forehead.  
'Absolutely, uncle Emmett.' I coughed loudly while she said Uncle.  
'Remember, we are all brothers and sisters here, sweetheart.' Rosalie threw in, before I could say anything. Nessie just smiled apologetic and walked bravely thru the front door of the huge building.

I really had to pull Bella inside of the Biology classroom. She just stood by the door, thinking. Never made the move to enter. I didn't want to be late for our first day, so I pulled her inside like a defiant child.  
'Goodmorning, sir, we are Edward and Bella Cullen' I said as polite as I could, while I held on to Bella, who seemed to be preparing to make a run for it.  
Just then she relaxed under my grip and strolled toward the back of the class, without even an answer from the teacher.

_**Strange child ..**_. the teacher thought. I had to keep myself from smiling.  
But then I started to hear other things, things I didn't want to hear.

_**Wow, she is so hot. What would she look like naked?**_ The boy on the front row met my gaze, but didn't stop thinking about Bella. It only got worse.

_**She's a goddess. An angel.**_ The girl next to the boy thought.

I smiled to myself, cause that was exactly what she was. My angel.

When i sat myself down besides Bella, other thoughts came rushing in. All about my love, my wife and it hit me like a knive.

_**Would she have a boyfriend? I should ask her at lunch...**_

_**Oh my god, she is so gorgious, I'd love to rip that little dress of her body ...**_

_**Why would she be so shy? She's stunning! Too stunning! Look at Jim gazing at her ...**_

_**Oh hell! Smack that ass!**_

That was more than I could bare, so I did my best to tune them out.  
Bella looked around wary, once again consumed by her thoughts.  
Then suddenly she turned to look at me and smiled so brightly, it would have taken my breath away.

Then I heard her thoughts ._**.. Just like the first day we met, remember. Biology always gets me weepy, Edward. What if you had stayed with the Denali's? I would never had been able to give all of me. Although I loved you, even looking all scary and full of hatred...**_ She smiled again and I kissed her hands. Some of the boys had noticed this and looked at me wary, I smiled at them and then planted a big kiss right on her lips. They were all surprised and turned their heads within an instant.

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As we walked in the lunch room later that day, I saw all eyes on us. I skimmed the room to find my siblings. They had found a table in the corner at the window. We slowly walked toward it, still hand in hand.

'It's not right, they are brother and sister' I heard a boy saying just besides us.  
Bella stiffened besides me. But she had gotten used to it from the last school we went to. I immediately thought of Nessie. This has to be hard for her, being part of the freaky family. When we got to the table, all the rest was already there. All couples holding hands and poor Nessie sat there, feeling ackward and alone. I knew how it felt, because I lived it so many decades. It wasn't easy, seeing all the love and not being part of it. Yet not being able to be part of anything else. I smiled at her and took her hand in mine. I released Bella to sit besides Nessie and gave her a big kiss.

_**The other one too? Who is this guy? Those are his sisters for crying out loud...**_ I heard someone think, I looked up to see who it was, but I couldn't make it out. They all seemed to look at us now.  
Silently I asked Bella what was wrong before, but she just smiled.  
'Please, my love, tell me. Don't tell me it was only the Biology thing. I already saw it in the hall. My love, you know I can't read your mind. Just tell me, please.' I pleaded with my wife.  
Just then I saw images coming from Alice's vision. Bella's eyes crimson red. A blond boy on the ground, all the life drained from him. Bella running away from the parking lot, with God knows how many witnesses.  
'Oh, no ...' was all I could bring myself to say. Bella's head snapped up, while she looked at me. In her eyes, sorrow, guilt, and something I couldn't quite decipher. She knew, yes, she knew exactly what I just saw and what Alice saw. 'Why didn't you tell me?' I asked in a worried voice. She just shrugged.

_**What's going on?**_ Jasper called in my mind.  
_**Oh, right, now she becomes a evil mean killingmachine! But as a newborn, oh no, as tame as a little lamb...**_ Emmett's thoughts didn't amuse me a bit.  
But how could he figure this out before Jasper? Jasper with his everlasting urges. I looked at Jasper severe, but he didn't get the clue.  
Then Emmett made a little gulping sound.  
This ofcourse, caught Jaspers attention immediatly.  
Understanding finally crossed his face and with this an overwhelming sense of calm oozed around us.

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**That night**

'Carlisle, I have to take sick leave.' I heard my wife saying to Carlisle.  
Without even asking why, Carlisle wrote her a note and went on reading his book. I knew he wanted her to give the opportunity to come speak to him alone if she needed to. He was never the one to push someone.

Without even looking at me, she stalked right passed me and ran toward Jacob's room. I eavesdropped from the bottom of the stairs.  
'You still care for me?' I heard her ask the dog. That question stung right in the core of my existence. Why would he have to care for her? Was she leaving me?  
'Ofcourse, I do, Bella, but why?' I heard him stammer.  
'Your my best friend and I want you to drive me to Forks, right now.  
And I want you to stay with me for a while, till I can face myself again.  
Can you do that? As my friend?' She asked him in a serious tone.  
She was doing the same as me, running away. But why with Jacob? So, the dog didn't have anything to do around here, but I am still her husband. I would go with her if she needed me too.  
'What about Nessie? Is she coming too?' Ah, he wasn't going to go without Nessie. And I wasn't going to let Nessie go along, if I wasn't around. So she would have to end this stupid thing right now.  
'No, but I will be, and Charlie and Billy and your pack. Look at it as a vacation. Nessie will be here when you get back and she needs to go to school, anyway.' What? She wasn't planning on coming back. I heard it right, she had said if you get back. So she was leaving me! My knees buckled under me and I fell down to the floor. Jasper had felt my anguish and was right there beside me, spreading his calm as ever.  
'Get lost!' I yelled at him, but he didn't budge.  
He just pulled me to the couch, before calling Alice and Esme in to comfort me. I was not allowing any consolation, so I ran through the door.  
Desperate for the speed to clear my head.

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I must have run for hours, because when I got back it was already dark.  
I walked in to find my entire family sitting in the living room.  
I joined them, desperate to pull my Bella in my arms, but she wasn't there.

**_Sorry man, she left with Jacob two hours ago._**

Emmett's voice in my head made my knees buckle again and Jasper spread the calm feeling before I could get at my break down.  
Nessie sat in the corner, eyes red and hair wild.  
Jacob had left as well and here she was. Left behind with her depressed father and his family. Abandoned by her mother and her soulmate.  
Then the feeling to protect her overwon my pain. I picked her up and hold her in a crushing hug. How would I ever be able to explain all that had happened to this fragile little princess. This must cause her more pain than it could cause me, but still I was heartbroken as well.

Then she placed her hand on my cheeck. Images of Bella flew through me and the last one. Nessie calling after her. Bella had just yelled that's she would love Nessie forever and pulled Jacob away by his hand, preventing him the chance to say goodbye. Then the image of the Rabbit speeding away. 'Oh honey, they'll be back. Your mommy loves you to much to leave you behind.' I said it more certain, than I felt.

Two days later, Jacob came back. He couldn't leave Nessie behind too long. Just as I had expected. But Bella wasn't with him and it frightened me.  
She couldn't face the smell of that boy just yet, Jacob had explained to me.  
She had left with Renee to Italy. Renee always talked about visiting Verona, when Bella became obsessed with Romeo and Juliet.  
Bella had decided it was the ideal moment. Phil hadn't minded, cause he was to busy with baseball. He had to tell us all, how much Bella loved us and that she would certainly be coming back. She couldn't leave her love and baby behind, now could she. But she had also asked him to tell us, to ease up and leave her be for the moment.  
And so we did.

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**First chapter.**

**Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Volturi

**I don't own Twilight**

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I sat with Emmett in French class, chuckling when I suddenly heard someone call my name. I recognized my sister's voice. So I searched for her again to see what she had to tell me.

_**EDWARD! THE VOLTURI! BELLA!**_ was all I caught of Alice's desperate screams in my head. I stood up immediately, running out the door at a human pace.  
'He's not feeling well' Emmett informed the teacher.  
Alice was already outside at the parking lot, when I got there.  
She told me she already went to the head office to report we were very sick and going home.

I still hadn't caught the entire story as she ran inside the big house and called out to Jacob, Esme and Carlisle.

We sat around the oval dining table, when Alice cleared her throat, as if that was needed.  
While she explained what she had seen, I could see her vision replaying itself in her head. 'NO!' I yelled out, ready to knock everything out of my way. They would find her in Verona and just pick her off the street, then Alice had seen her standing besides Aro in a black coat. And what happened to Renee? Alice hadn't seen anything about Renee. Would they just kill her? Take her back as a snack? Or let her go? Would she even notice when they abducted my sweet Bella? Ofcourse, one of their fortune tellers would have seen her in Verona. How could I have been so stupid to let her go to Italy alone? I should have taken the next plane out. She would have been angry for not respecting her wishes. But this...

Then I heard the Jeep pull up, I ran outside and lept inside the big Jeep, but Emmett caught me by the arm.  
'Hey Bro, you're not stealing my car now are you?' He laughed boomingly.  
Jasper looked startled as he felt my anger and despair. Ofcourse he would mess with my feelings now and just as I thought of it, my body relaxed and I let Emmett drag me out of the car.

After Alice had told them the story, Emmett and Jasper had insisted on coming along. And somehow, it had turned out into a family thing.  
Everyone was coming along to Verona, even Jacob and Nessie.  
We took the next plane to New York, then to Milan and from there we drove.  
All the way over, I could see Bella in that black cloak and her eyes crimson red. It frightened me out of my wits. How would I ever be able to save her? To take her out of that place? I just hoped she was still in Verona.

Alice kept searching through the future, but it always showed the same thing. Then she finally found Renee. She was standing at an art shop, while Bella stood at a fountain in the middle of a plaza. Then when Renee turned around, she couldn't find Bella and she became utterly desperate. I saw her through Alice's mind looking at the hotel, the plaza, the shops and then calling the police. This we had to prevent. So Renee would live, that was a great plus. But involving the police was not a good idea. Although they wouldn't be able to track the Volturi, it did presented a problem for us. We didn't need to be questioned and investigated, with what we are.

When we arrived in Verona, I headed immediately toward the hotel I had seen in Alice's vision. I had seen the room number, so without even thinking about it, I ran past the reception toward the room. I pounded a couple of times on the door, but nobody opened. Then I just my creditcard to open the lock. When I got inside, I saw everything had been thrown around. Renee's doing, it had already happened. I jumped outside, thank God for the fact that there was nobody around, and ran toward the rest. I signed to start the car and as I jumped in the car, we sped toward the plaza. I sniffed around and finally caught Renee's scent. I ran toward her.

'Edward? How did you get here? Is Bella with you?' She asked frantically.  
I shook my head and fell to my knees. When I finally was able to gather myself again, I asked her to come to the hotel with us. Her thoughts were defiant, but she followed anyhow.

We sat a little defeated in the hotel room. Carlisle was trying to explain what we were to Renee and why secrecy was so important. She told him she had noticed things about Bella and she knew we weren't human. Also the not aging thing and Nessie's growing rate had hinted the abnormal situation.  
But she didn't think of the possibility of vampires.  
While she tried to take this in, Jasper and Jacob tried to get a strategy against the Volturi. But strategy or not, they were far too well protected underground to even come close to them.  
Jacob wanted to call in his pack, but Jasper told him not to. They would take it as a threat and would not wait to talk to us. They would immediately destroy.

_**Mommy, I'll find you...**_ I looked around, startled.

'Where is Nessie?' I yelled completely out of my mind.  
'She went to the toilet.' Jacob said calmly.  
I pounded on the bathroom door, but no answer came.  
I jumped out of the window again, sniffing around, hysterically.  
I followed the scent and ran the fastest i had ever run.  
The trail went on for about 5 miles and then suddenly nothing.  
I went back on the trail, till I noticed a familiar smell that had melted with hers. I growled and ran around, not finding any more trace of them.

When I finally got back at the hotel, I felt as if my entire world had crumbled before me. I entered the room, without seeing anything or anyone.  
'What happened?' Jacob growled behind me.  
'She's gone... with ... with' I put my head in my hands.  
'With who?' Alice asked, almost as hysterical as I had been, before I became numb.  
'Felix.' I muttered silently.  
'Oh my god!' Alice's face fell.

'Don't you see what they are doing?!' I screamed out at Jasper.  
Renee looked wary at me from the corner and at times I could see her shudder.  
The vampire story hadn't made it easier on her, just the opposite.  
'I do, Edward. It's a tactic and as you know, that's my expertise.' he said calmly, as he send another wave of his poisoned calm in the atmosphere.  
'Then why don't you think of something?' I said as I slowly relaxed.  
'The only thing for the moment is staying together. They are looking out for us, the gifted Cullens. So we can't give them the opportunity to pick us off the street somewhere by ourselves.' he said in his soothing voice.

When I realized i had nothing on Jasper, I turned at Alice.  
'Why didn't you warn us about Nessie?' I said at a manner, that made obvious I blamed her.  
'Edward, you know I can't see her, right. How could I have known?' She sounded as if she was crying, even if our kind couldn't cry, you could hear and see it obviously.  
'Are you still keeping tabs at the Volturi? Then you should have seen this plan!' I almost yelled, but was able to steady my voice in time, seeing Renee shudder again.  
'I am, but there was no such command. Nothing to foresee this.' She said defeated. She turned to Jasper and snuggled in his chest, while she hid her face. In an instant I felt guilty, but I had no time for guilt now.  
I had to find my wife and my daughter.

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There had been enough time waisted, planning and discussing. No plan would ever work. I told my family I needed a walk with Renee alone.  
Renee shuddered at the idea of being alone with me, but in her mind I heard her repeating the words **_'sweet son in law, love of my daughters life_**'.  
Any other day, it would have warmed me up, but not right now.

When we walked far enough to be out of hearing distance, I asked her what she had understood of the Volturi. When Carlisle had told her about us, he had told a part about the Volturi, including the incident surrounding Nessie.  
While she replayed the conversation in her head, I knew she understood everything.  
'So you know they are dangerous right?' i asked her softly.  
'Yes and they have my daughter and granddaughter in there, so whatever you are planning I am coming with you.' She spoke determined, as a true warrior, but she wasn't a warrior. She was just a fragile human.

'No, you would just be a snack to them.' My word were harsh, but they were the thruth. 'I am going alone. I want to ask you for a favor.' She cocked her head curiously.  
'I want you to stop my family of following me. Alice can see the future, so she will see me going there. You must hurry to the hotel and stop them. I can't allow anymore getting caught. Alice is the first price to them, so she must certainly stay out of the way. Can you do that?' I spoke quickly, but not too fast. She caught every word and just nodded in reply.  
Her eyes were filled with tears, despair and fear.  
'I love your daughter more than anything and I will do all I can to save her. Do you trust me?' At this she looked me straight in the eyes and said with a tone so certain it almost startled me 'YES.' Then she turned around abruptly and headed toward the hotel.

I reached Volterra in the middle of the night. I still didn't know what I would say or do, to get them to release my girls. But then again, would there be anything I could say? They wouldn't just let them go. Probably I'd just end up standing there besides them in a cloak, just be near them, not to lose them.  
I would give up anything for them. That's it! I would give myself in exchange for them. Wasn't I always one of their priorities? They would surely let the girls go if I could convince them of my intentions.

With a huge smirk I entered the office. 'Hello, Gianna. I'll be going down now." I said to the girl. She eyed me warily and then wanted to stop me, but I moved to fast for her to catch me. I jumped down the pit and moved through the tunnels, feeling very certain of myself.

I entered the big room with a new found confidence. Jane and Alec jumped up, when they heard me enter. Gianna hadn't been able to deliver the news i was on my way down. So they stood stunned for a moment. I saw Heidi and a couple of humans. Aro ordered them back outside for a moment.  
Than he rested his eyes on me.

'What a nice surprise! Edward, I thought you would never come to visit me.' Aro smiled widely while he looked at me, as a loving grandfather in a way.  
I looked around the room, but I couldn't see my wife or my daughter.  
Where had he hidden them? What was he doing to them?  
I controlled my face, while I smiled back at him.  
'I was in the neighbourhood and I thought: Why not pay a visit to my old friend Aro? So here I am. In the meanwhile, I would also love to be indulged in the presence of my beautiful Renesmee and my lovely Bella, if you don't mind?' There was no point disguising my intent to see them, he would notice as soon he shook my hand. All the time he kept smiling at me.  
He turned around and gested towards Felix, who disappeared, no doubt to fetch my girls. Then he slowly moved forward, reaching for my hand as a friendly gesture.

'It's so nice to see you again, Edward.' He said, then he took my hand and saw all I had ever thought. And others around me of course.  
'Very interesting.' He muttered, while he got to the part of me recognizing Felix's scent. He knew there was no point hiding them from me now.  
As he released my hand, he turned around in one gracious movement.  
And just then they walked in, my two beautiful girls. Both wearing a black cloak and trying to touch constantly. Just light touches, their hands on the arm, fingers on palm. Just to make sure they were still together.  
I looked at them with such a longing, if I had had a heart, it would burst.  
My Nessie, didn't seem to feel for me, probably Chelsea the bond breaker, had something to do with that. But as it could not affect my love, my Bella, I saw her longing for me in her eyes, her fear, her resentment to this place.  
It was all in her eyes. And it stuck a knive through my heart.  
I winced at this sight, but I was also happy that her eyes were still beautiful golden. It would be harder to get her back to our side, if she gotten the taste for human blood.

'Such powerfull allies I have required' Aro said in a soft tone 'Nessie is a wonder in her kind, one well worth studying and then her mother. Do I need to say more? Not only is she truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, her power is immense. No mental shield could ever compare to her. But I knew she would be wonderful, since she came here for the first time. Since then did I want her to join our family and finally she has.' He smiled as happily as a toddler given a cookie.

Had i been wrong all along? Was Bella really the first price? How come I hadn't seen this in Aro's head before? What would I do now? If she was the greatest power to him, then he would never trade her for me. How would I ever be able to safe my beautiful wife and baby girl. They would be stuck down here, getting paper skin and barely seeing the outside. Only on the rarest occassions if Aro decided to go outside. How would I cope with this loss? I could not cope. They are my existence, my life. I could never leave that behind. But I couldn't attack the Volturi either. Unless Bella would shield me, I would be death in an instance. But her loyalty had to lie with Aro now, she would get to see him as his master. Maybe she wouldn't want to risk our lives and just let him have her to save ours. Knowing Bella this was the most probable outcome. Always the noble, little martyr, she was.

Then I saw Nessie blowing me a kiss, very fast and without anyone else noticing. So she had been faking before. Her bond was not broken.  
But what good could Nessie possibly do, she only could show pictures.  
Maybe she could distract Alec, so he couldn't stun me. Don't think too much, just let it play out, Edward, I told myself. All these thoughts passed in a few seconds. Then I finally spoke with a forceful voice 'My women are special indeed, but they are still part of my family. As I am a husband and father, I still decide on their where abouts and faith. They will come home with me, right now. We can leave on good terms and our friendship will only be enforced by this courtesy on your part. You must understand a father's love and the love for a soulmate, you who have walked this earth far much longer than any of us. We don't cause you any trouble and we don't mean to, I promise. I just beseeth you to release my girls, so that I can take them to their home and fill their life with love. Isn't that always what you told your family, to search their destiny and require their destiny? Well, my girls are my destiny.' When I finished my speech I stood trembling, while I waited for my sentence.  
The whole room looked at me warily. Then suddenly Aro's hand rested on my shoulder.

_**He really can not live without them...**_

With this thought of Aro, I felt hope rising.

_**This will make it easier, to make him stay here.**_

Suddenly I could feel it all sink away, every inch of hope.

'Yes' I agreed. Aro beamed at me happily at these words. He never thought it possible, but finally I would become one of them. He had found my weaknesses and exploited them to the fullest. Although, if it hadn't been for me, he still would have taken them, cause as I could make out from his mind, Bella really was a very powerful vampire. One he didn't want to face, one he wanted on his side, forever.

I only got a grey cloak, which meant I was less powerful then my girls, but at least I was near them. Heidi came back in with her catch of the day. I looked around to find Bella's gaze at these humans. She still found it disgusting how they sent Heidi to do their fishing for them. She wouldn't touch the humans, I was sure of it, she had such great self-control and Nessie, i didn't know what diet they had planned for my little girl. Did they even have normal human food? I didn't know, but I was sure if there was nothing else, Nessie wouldn't resist and i didn't want my little girl taking human lives. Nessie had found her way round to me and put her hand on my cheek '**_Dad, I don't want to eat people, I rather starve!'_** She said calmly and certain in her thought.

I wasn't sure of myself though, if the thirst was so high, I would probably not be able to resist. What would Bella think of me than and my little girl? I didn't want my mind to wander there, so I looked for Bella's eyes again. When I found them I saw such a kind smile in them, I would have cried if I could. Here we were, in the core of earth, a little hell, if you might, yet she still wanted to comfort me and succeeded with just a look. Finally, Heidi, presented a human to Bella. 'No thank you, Heidi. Aro, I think I'll be taking my leave now.' My wife spoke on a harsh tone and stalked out the room, without waiting for Aro to speak.

**_Am I not supposed to be the master here? - _**Aro's question in his mind made me laugh out loud. He turned around and eyed me angrily, but I just chuckled and said 'That's my girl' under my breath. Then I motioned Nessie to follow after her mother. When she had left the room quietly, I moved toward Aro. I placed my hand on his shoulder 'i'll be taking my leave now as well.' I said in a formal tone. Aro simply replied 'As you wish', but his mind screamed other things.

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**That's chapter 2 for you.**

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	3. Chapter 3 : Plan

**I don't own Twilight**

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What was I to do? I didn't know. We couldn't stay here trapped in this dungeon forever. Would Alice plan an offense? Probably not. I told Renee to keep them away. But if they saw how this had played out, wouldn't they try to spring us?  
No, I shouldn't let my mind wander there. It would be a disaster and my sister would only end up beside us. She should stay away.  
I was walking hesitantly around in these dark tunnels. I hadn't been to this part of the Volturi's hide out before and I wasn't sure where they kept us.  
Then I heard my daughter in my head.

**_Dad, the third hallway to your left, there is a big red door, you'll find us behind it.  
Find us, daddy._**

I ran as fast as I could now. Eager to see my love and my Nessie.  
It only took me seconds to get to the red door. When I got inside, my sweet Bella threw a little piece of paper in the fire. It frustrated me, that she didn't say what it was, but probably I wouldn't find out. Maybe it was some kind of strategy to get out of here. Oh how I longed to hear her thoughts now.  
As she looked at me, she jumped up eagerly and wrapped her arms around me. Her hug would have crushed me, but I longed for her with the same amount of passion. I kissed her with blazing passion, untill our daughter cleared her throat to remind us of her presence. Then I wound her in my arms and kissed her hair. 'Sweet Nessie, are you alright? Have they hurt you?' I looked at her with worry written on my face.

She placed her hand on my cheek and showed me everything that had happened untill now.  
When she had left to look for her mother, she had seen Demetri standing right across the street from her. Fear had gotten the better of her and she had turned around immediately only to run straight into Felix's arms.  
He had put her in a car and driven her to Volterra. Once in Volterra, they had blindfolded her and led her into the tunnels, to make sure, she wouldn't be able to find her way back outside. They had brought her to a sort of lab to examine her. To find the differences between our kind and her, which where rather significant to them. But she couldn't make out what they had discovered, only that it was important to them.

After that they had brought her to a small room, where Aro had been waiting along with Renata and Jane. There they tested her abilities.  
She had placed her hand on Aro to ask about her mother, but Aro had refused to let her see Bella. As he had taken her hand, he had seen nothing, which he found strange. Apparently Nessie only showed people what she wanted them to see. Jane had tried her power on Nessie as well, but Nessie hadn't moved. After concluding she was also a sort of shield, but with the extra ability to make people see things she wanted them to see, they had brought her to see Bella.

'Was that all?' I asked her as she pulled back her hand from my face.

_**No, there is much more, dad. Just try to stay calm, okay. Mommy didn't want me to tell you some of these things. **_

I liked it better if she showed me by touch, the images were much clearer than if I had to read her mind. I nodded in response and wondered what could be so bad that my lovely wife didn't want me to know.

Then Nessie touched my face again. I couldn't help the growl that escaped my breath. I saw Nessie entering a room to find Aro with Bella.  
'I want you to be mine, Bella. I have never seen such a talented and beautiful creature in my life. Sulpicia has outlive her time and frankly she doesn't appreciate my company any more than I appreciate hers. Could you consider this, Bella?' Aro spoke on a gentle voice, while holding Bella's hand.  
Bella pulled her hand back, while she answered him on a polite tone. 'I am a married woman and I DO appreciate the company of my husband.'  
Aro winced and then replied in a harsh tone 'We could easily take your husband out of the picture, you know.'  
Bella's face fell as she fell down to her knees 'Please, don't harm him. I promise to stay here with you. I offer you my services as a shield, if you just let him be. Please.'  
Seeing my wife begging this demon, made me so angry, I easily could rip his throat out at this point. As I growled again, I remembered my promise to Nessie and tried to compose myself.

Then she showed me pictures of her training. They tried to make her shield others and trained her to paralyze people by the pictures she could show.  
For the moment she could immobilize 2 people by touch. They wanted her to evolve, so she could have this power without the touching part. Nessie believed this was not a possibility but they didn't listen to her. They just made her work harder. They also trained her in combat. This made me growl again. My daughter in a fight, what were they thinking?

Then she pulled her hand back again. She looked at Bella who was looking in horror at me. Probably wondering what our daughter had showed me. If she had revealed to much, which she had. I wouldn't tell on Nessie, though.  
I quickly smiled at my beautiful daughter.  
'That was a lot to take in, sweetie. So your going to be a warrior now, are you?' I tried to speak the words as calmly as possible. Nessie just nodded with a pout on her pretty face.  
Bella sighed, probably convinced I didn't see the Aro incident.

The days passed in a constant routine of training and more training.  
We had been here for about 2 months now and instead of growing stronger, we only got weaker. The fact that we weren't feeding had a lot to do with this fact, but Aro hadn't given up, yet. He was convinced we would finally give up and feed on the humans. I nearly had a couple of days ago, but Bella had put her hand on my shoulder to remind me of what I was doing.  
She truly was my savior and the only thing that helped me through this dark time in my life. We were rats in a cage and we were well aware of this fact.  
While we were training in combat with Felix as our mentor, Marcus suddenly stormed into the room. I smelled the familiar scent and I felt like I was truly going into shock. There he stood, with 6 deer in front of us.

T_**hey will need their strenght for battle... I don't care what Aro says, this can't go on any longer.**_ - His thoughts caught me by surprise. Marcus going against Aro. This couldn't promise anything good, but I was truly grateful for the gift he had presented us with. I smiled at him for a moment, before jumping the biggest one. Bella and Nessie followed my example and we felt truly happy for a moment, feeling the blood ending our thirst.  
Ofcourse it wasn't as exciting as hunting mountain lions, but we got rid of our thirst and that was a start.  
Then I thought about what Marcus had thought. He had said 'battle'. Which battle? My head snapped up as I glared at Marcus.  
His mind was blank, probably trying not to think of anything he didn't want me to hear.

Bella was called to Aro, I followed her, only to be hold back by Felix.

**_Ah, the wolves are here. We'll have to fight soon now. That Bella girl isn't going to be able to stop her friends -_** Felix thoughts were excited, he really wanted to fight them. Was this the battle Marcus had thought of. Were we going to have to fight our friends, my daughters love. Would Jacob be here as well? We couldn't do this, could we? They are our friends. I won't be a part of this, I thought, certain of myself. What were they doing here, anyway? I didn't know and I didn't ask.

When Felix and Marcus started debating strategy, I grabbed Nessie's hand.  
Then I ran as fast as I could to the big room. Nessie couldn't run as fast as me, being half human, so I ended up dragging her behind me.  
When we got there, I saw the entire pack was in the room, standing face to face with my beautiful Bella. Jacob and Sam where in human form, doing the talking. The rest all came in wolf shape.  
'We've come to take you home.' Jacob spoke in a majestic voice.

**_The cue was I'd love to, come on Bella, say it, this was the perfect line. -_** Jacob's thoughts penetrated my head and then I realized this was all a scheme. Bella had planned this? When? I couldn't quit make it out. How was she going to do this? Then she lifted her shield and her thoughts almost yelled at me.

_**DON'T STAND THERE, GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE, YOU NEED TO BE AWAY FROM FELIX. I'LL SHIELD YOU FROM JANE AND ALEC.**_

Felix and Marcus had followed us after we ran. I took Nessie's hand and walked slowly, trying not to rise any suspicion, towards Bella. When I took her hand she told Jacob 'I'd love to.'

At that word, the wolves jumped before us, growling wildly at the other vampires. Jacob and Sam changed forms and ran with Nessie and me toward the hole. Bella had let go of my hand and she still stood with the wolves.  
'Bella, run!' I yelled at her, but she didn't move, her face in full concentration.

She was shielding the wolves. With their Alfa's gone, she needed to shield each of them at the same time. I couldn't allow her to fight alone, so I turned around. I told Jacob to bring Nessie into safety and ran back to the big room. Just at the moment I arrived, I saw Felix lunging towards my wife, I jumped in front of her and wrestled with the big ape. Thank God for all the combat training or this fight would have been lost already.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Seth attacking Alec, who looked at the wolf in frustration. His power had had no affect and his combat skills were not nearly as perfected as ours. It was a lost cause as Seth ripped of his arm and then lunged at his throat. I felt euphoric as I saw the end of one of the Witch twins. No time, to concentrate on the wolves, Felix was still trying to rip out my throat. I fought him the best as I could, but I never seemed to be able to get the upper hand in the fight. It seemed we were on the same page and it took ages.

Then we were both pulled out of our concentration by a deafening shriek. As we both looked up, we just saw the end of Jane. Jared had taken her out and Bella had started a fire. The wolves were now carrying the pieces of the Witch Twins into the fire. This seemed to throw Felix. He stood up quickly and started backing up.

At that moment Aro started yelling at me.'Call of your guard dogs!' He fumed. 'They are not my guard dogs, they are our friends.' I answered him calmly. My lovely wife stepped up now. She placed herself only inches from Aro's face.  
'Sweet Aro,' She started, I couldn't help a growl escaping my teeth.'They are our friends and they will never let us down. All we want is our freedom. We will end this fight right now, if you promise to let us go and never seek us again. Can you promise us this?' She said in a certain voice. She knew we had already won. The greatest players in their game had been terminated.  
Aro just nodded in defeat. The wolves howled happily and I broke out in a victorious smile. My wife, the hero. I couldn't stop my body as it seemed to swell with proud.

We all ran as the wind, as we escaped the tunnels into the fresh air of the night. Such happiness came over me at the sight of the stars and the open sky. I pulled my wife into my arms and kissed her with such a passion, even the wolves turned their heads in shame. Thank God someone pulled my arm and pulled me out of this fire or I would have done things to my wife, no one should ever see. While I looked up reluctantly, I saw them. My family. They were all there. My joy was to great to explain as I took Alice in my arms, followed by Esme, Emmett, who pulled back and gave me a pat on the shoulder and the rest of my family. It truly was one of the greatest days of my life.

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**Hope you liked it.**


	4. Chapter 4 : Singer

**I don't own Twilight**

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Life had turned back to normal, as we walked into Biology.  
Carlisle had written us doctor notes. Apparently we had some tropical disease, that kept us down for several months. The others had been back to school as soon as Renee had ordered them to leave me be. It was strange somehow, to be back in the real world. And how repetitive it might be, I was happy to go to school. Anything was better, than living in the center of the earth, with no air, no light, no stars. Bella had been overjoyed as well.  
As we walked in I heard the comments of the male students again in my head.

_**Yes, she's back...look at that body sway.**_

_**Wow, she takes my breath away...**_

_**Would she really be dating her brother? And how about the other sister he had kissed? Maybe I am just imagining things. I should ask her out.**_

_**Mmm...Naked Bella...Rrrrrr....I want her**_

Even the dirty minds of my fellow students couldn't end my mood.  
In fact, I was actually proud that she was mine. My beautiful, smart, gorgious wife, my life, my love, forever.  
'Love, you still haven't told me how you did it.' I said to quiet for the humans to hear. She just chuckled. As I kept gazing at her, she spoke to me through her mind.

_**Do you really want to know now? - **_I just nodded.

_**Well, I knew you would make Alice stay behind. I hoped you would find a way to save us, but as you too quickly gave up your freedom to be with us, I had to find another way. So, as they were feeding on the humans, I saw the chance to get out of there. I knew they would be too busy to check on me, for a while. So I wrote a note to Alice, asking her to stay away, but to send the wolves after a couple of months, so we would have encreased our skills and be able to battle with the Volturi. I wrote on the note, that they had to wait for me to say 'I'd love to', so I would be able to get us all out of there. Then I burned the note, so you wouldn't be able to betray us to Aro. Nessie wouldn't betray the plan, cause she only shows people what she wants them to see. I am sorry for going behind your back, but you understand why I had to, don't you? -**_ As she explained her plan, I just gazed at her in awe. My saviour, my heroin, I still couldn't believe she was truly mine. So I responded her last question with a passionate kiss.

'Mr. Cullen, such behaviour is not suited inside the class room.' the teacher interrupted us. I just smiled my crooked smile at him.  
When the teacher finally continued his lesson, I turned to my Bella again.  
'How are you coping with the smell today?' I asked silently, I had seen the blond boy from Alice's vision, when we entered the room.

_**Doesn't bother me at all anymore **_

'That's good, because he is planning on asking you out today.' I whispered.

Her body went rigid for a moment, but relaxed almost in the same moment.  
Then she just shrugged.

As Bella and I walked into the lunch room, I noticed Nessie wasn't sitting at our table. I looked around and there she was sitting at a table filled with humans.  
What was she doing? Didn't she understand the danger this could oppose to us?  
I walked over to the table where my family was seated, while Bella filled a tray for us to keep up appearances.  
'What is she doing?' I asked my brothers as I sat down.  
_**Don't know bro. She didn't want to sit beside me all day, always beside some human.**_ - Emmett.  
_**Not good, not good -**_ Jasper.

Then I got distracted by the blond boy, who I had learned was named Tim, who walked over to Bella at the line. Oh my god, what next? This day wasn't going as well as I had thought. I had heard him thinking of asking her out, but I didn't think he would really do it, especially after our kissing in class.  
I saw Bella's body stiffen as Tim approached her. I noticed she wasn't breathing anymore. It was obvious to me, but I hoped the other kids wouldn't notice. She didn't seem to cope as well, as she told me. What if she had to speak? She would have to inhale the scent, I knew this all to well.  
I got up, ready to run over there if necessary.  
_**SIT DOWN YOU FOOL - **_Alice hissed at me in thought.  
I sat down again, but I could feel the knot in my stomach.  
The boy was standing right besides her now. I watched intently at what would happen.  
'Hello Bella.' I heard him say to her, she just nodded and smiled a little.  
'I was sorry to hear you were so sick. Are you feeling alright now?' He continued. Another nod from Bella. She couldn't keep this up, she would have to speak soon.  
'You sure look great.' He said, with a wide smile. She smiled back and with this smile her lips opened a bit. Shock crossed her face, and she held her breath again, but I could see it was no use, the scent burned her throat already. Finally it was her turn to pay. As she pulled out the money, she tried to compose herself. She quickly said 'Keep the change.' to the woman in grey and hurried to our table.

When she sat down at the table, she sucked in a big breath.  
'Doesn't bother you at all, right.' I said quickly, she hissed silently at me and turned her body away from me in anger.  
The boy kept gazing at her and several times I caught him trying to get up, but sitting back down immediately. He was going to try again, I was sure of it. And this hostility Bella had just shown towards me, wasn't doing any good as well. He thought it was a sign that there was nothing going on between us after all.

We were sitting in English class and Bella was still not speaking to me. I had only taken this class to be with her. She was such a big fan of the classics, I couldn't refuse her. It was boring to me though, so I started to search for my Nessie's mind. I had to know why she was hanging out with these humans and what she was telling them. I found Emmett first.

_**If he isn't going to take his hand of Nessie's back, I am going to break it. Stupid kid. I can smell his hormons all the way back here. Oh don't you go there, man. -**_ Emmett's thoughts were always truly what he meant. I saw the kid's hand lowering on my daughter's back from Emmett's point of view.

I could just hold back a growl in time, when I realized I was still sitting in class. It was rather strange that Aro hadn't been able to read her mind, I could. She was a shield as well, but not to me. Was it because I was part of her, her biological father. She had sort of inherited both our powers, then. Mine and Bella's, only somewhat different, than ours. I put that thought behind me as I searched on for my daughters mind.

_**He is nice, but he shouldn't push it like that. Oh, he looks kind of sad. Was I wrong to push his hand away? No, I am Jacob's and no boy has to touch me like that. Besides I am warmer than other humans, maybe he would find out to much. Daddy wouldn't like that. Yes, it was the right thing to do ...**_

Her mind was totally preoccupied with the boy, I didn't need to hear all of that. So I searched for something more of interest.  
Rosalie was thinking about some nail polish she had bought and an outfit to go with it. I sighed, Rosalie will be Rosalie. Then I found Jasper.

_**If I would just break his neck, than Bella didn't have to worry about him anymore. Or a car accident. Too cliché, perhaps. Maybe, drowning. Yes it happens all the time. -**_ Oh, I didn't like the sound of this. It reminded me of how they had debated over Bella in the beginning. I hadn't allowed it and I am sure Bella didn't want us to kill this Tim guy either. She wouldn't want the blood of an innocent boy on her hands. I would have to talk to Jasper soon.  
He kept on with his murderous plans. Then I moved on to Alice.

_**What is he thinking of? He looks so strange. Why am I not getting anything on him? He's thinking something, I see it. Maybe he isn't planning anything, maybe he is thinking of me... No, his look is too serious. Where is Edward when I need him? -**_ I smiled at the last thought. Right here, sis.  
Then the bell finally rang.

I ran out of English, leaving Bella dazed. She didn't intent to run after me, because she calmly gathered her books, while she looked at me with a risen brow. But I had to catch Jasper and Alice before their French class. I would see my love again in PE. I hoped she would be in better moods after my short disappearance. But no time to think about that now.

_**Edward, have you heard anything from Jasper -**_ I could hear Alice's question as soon she saw me coming behind the corner. I just nodded. She seemed to notice there was something wrong with my face, so she immediately guessed it wasn't good.

'Jasper, you are not going through with this.' I said in a voice filled with authority. Jasper just glared up at me.  
'Your wife needs my help.' He finally spoke.  
'No, she doesn't. She has great self-control. She'll get through this. We don't kill innocent people, Jasper.' I said, trying to sound calm although I rather yelled some profanities at him following this obvious statement.  
Alice knew all too quick what this was all about, she grabbed his elbow. Slowly kissed his cheek and spoke to him with a voice as smooth as silk.  
'You don't need to do this, Jazz. Bella can fend for her self. She won't hurt the boy.' As she said the last part, I relaxed as well. I needed this reassurance, because I hadn't been sure of it myself.  
Jasper let his head down in defeat and just nodded.

I smiled at my sister and brother, gave Alice a quick peck on the cheeck, then I ran to PE. Bella wasn't there. Where had she gone? Had Alice been wrong and had this been her chance to lure the boy with her. No, Alice would have picked that up. I wanted to walk back out, but the coach had already spotted me and walked over to me.  
'Where is your sister, Edward? Class is about to begin.' he asked, with suspicion thick in his voice.  
'She wasn't feeling well. She went to the nurse.' I lied as smoothly as I could.  
He seemed to accept this excuse and then handed me the ball.  
'You'll start today, try to get the ball past those three boys and make the point.' Ofcourse, this would be easy, but acting human meant I couldn't be a basketbal wonder, so i slipped up on purpose when I reached the final boy and he managed to get the ball from me. The coach kept me to busy to look inside the minds of other students. So I still didn't know where Bella went to as I walked out toward our car. A sudden wave of panic hit me again, when she wasn't there either.

I kept looking into random minds, not hearing anything about Bella.  
As all of my siblings and ofcourse my sweet Nessie had come out, I had asked them, but none of them knew anything. I drove home faster as usual and ran into the house. Jacob was sitting in the loveseat watching some stupid sitcom. He smiled as we walked in and eyed me carefully.  
This gave it away, he knew where my Bella was. She didn't tell me, but Jacob could know. A sting of jealousy flew right through me.  
'Okay, where is she, mutt?' I nearly yelled at him.  
His face dropped at the word 'mutt' and then his face turned thoughtfull.  
As I tried to read his mind, the only thing I could see were trees and brick walls. Dang, he was getting to good at this evasive thing.  
'Have it your way, I'll sniff her out!' I yelled at him.  
His face dropped and then he said calmly 'Just let her be for a while, Edward. She'll be home before you know it.' Still those walls and trees in his mind. I thought he would have slipped up, when I yelled at him, but no, now he suddenly had to be strong and keep me in the dark.  
I hissed and sat down pinching the bridge of my nose between my fingers.

I tried so hard to break thru his walls, but it was no use. Finally, I gave up and tried to play her lullaby at the piano, but it came out all wrong. So I gave up on this as well. The others had left as soon as I raised my voice to Jacob, but now I saw Alice walking towards her car.  
I ran after her. Maybe she had seen something by now, I had to try.

As she saw me coming after her, she just smiled endearing at me.  
'Hey, want to come shopping with me?' she asked innocently. Ugh, was this were she was going. I had hoped she went to get Bella, but my hopes had been in vain. I agreed, despite my disgust of shopping, just to get some time with her and to pick her brains. She beamed at me, when I agreed and quickly opened the passenger door of her Porsche. 'After you.' she said happily. As she got into the car I started my invasion of her private thoughts. All of them centered around Jasper. She had had a vision of him, standing over Tim. Tim's body wet and a blue shade. So he hadn't given up on his plans and he went with the drowning plan. I didn't like this at all.

I should have known it wasn't this easy. Jasper still thought in the military way and taking out the threat was only natural to him. When I remembered how hard it had been to get them to stay away from Bella, I nearly cringed.  
He and Rosalie had only been to happy to take her out. We even had a big family meeting about the situation. My protective attitude had shocked everyone, except for Alice ofcourse. I would have killed him there, if he hadn't agreed to let her be. What could I possibly say to make him change his mind now? This boy wasn't nearly as important as Bella had been. Bella had been my comet, she woke me up, along with all my humans instincts. She had been that life altering angel, you so rarely find on the face of this earth. This boy was just a puppy in love, following my wife's every move with pure awe.

He was nothing to me. But he was still a human being, unaware of our existence and absolutely innocent. I couldn't just stand by. Would this also mean that we would have to move on again? That we had drawn attention to us? How long would it take for someone to tell the police that he had been in love with Bella and that I obviously was her mate. Would they think I did it, in a rage of jealousy. No this couldn't go well. I had to make Jasper see that. Ofcourse, Bella's absence also left my mind to wander elsewhere. My beautiful wife, standing over his dead body. The boy drained of life and blood, by my love. I snapped out of it as soon as Alice stopped the car in front of some designer boutique.

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**Another chapter for you to enjoy.**

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	5. Chapter 5 : Transfer

**I don't own Twilight**

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_**EDWARD! Snap out of it, please. -**_ I heard Alice in my head as we almost reached the house. I looked at her warily, but then I realized where we were.  
I nodded in agreement. My family didn't need to see me like this. This utter mess I seemed to be right now. Then Alice looked at me with worry crossing her face.

_**Stay calm, please! Edward, she is doing the right thing. -**_ So she had seen Bella and still evaded it all this time. I couldn't see what she saw though, only her warning. Bella must be home and there would be something unpleasant I would have to endure.

I ran inside and found Bella sitting besides Jacob on the floor, joking about some stupid incident in class earlier today. When she saw me her face turned serious and something, for an instance I thought it was fear, was present in her eyes. Then she smiled at me wholeheartedly and jumped into my arms. I even struggled to keep my balance, as I kissed her, all the despair and worry seemed to vanish out of my mind. We got so caught up in the moment, that when our kiss had ended, we found ourselves totally alone in the living room. I smiled at her crookedly and absolutely dazzled, before my mind unscrambled itself again.

'Where were you?' I asked her nervously. She just shrugged. This was no time for evasiveness. But I could see she didn't want to tell me, how I wished I could simply read her mind without her permission at this point.  
'Did you hurt the boy?' I asked hesitantly. She looked at me in horror and disbelief. I could see the anger building up inside of her. Ofcourse not, how could I have thought something like that! I infuriated myself to utter insanity, but she misunderstood my mood. Assuming I had already judged her on committing this crime, she jumped up and ran upstairs, slamming the bedroom door with a deafening noise. I sighed and let myself fall into the loveseat, not knowing how I would talk my way out of this one.

Now, I would surely not get anything out of her. I prepared myself to spend the night watching some old movies, whenever she wasn't pleased with me, she didn't allow me access to our room, but then all of the sudden I heard some fluttering footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned to see, who it was. If I had had a heart, it would have stopped right there and then.  
Bella stood at the the bottom of the stairs, in the black lingerie set Alice had bought her today in the boutique. She smiled challenging at me, while she beckoned me upstairs. I followed as in a trance, this beautiful creature had absolutely clouded my every thought and I could not even speak in fear this spell would be broken.

Our passion for each other had not died yet, while the house stirred to live. I heard Emmett calling Nessie over and over to get ready for school, but apparently my daughter seemed to have all the time in the world.  
Smiling I got up and dressed myself, at times I needed to show who was the father in this house. Bella was still lying there, enjoying every sensation of her body after our intimacy. I kissed her quickly and ran towards Nessie's room.

Nessie sat fully clothed on her bed, her eyes stimmed red from the tears she had so obviously spilled during the night. I looked at her warily.  
'What's wrong, sweetie?' I asked, while I placed my arm around her shoulders.

_**I'll miss mommy -**_ She just thought, this send a shiver down my spine. Was she leaving again? Permanently this time? Was that why she had seduced me so eagerly yesterday, even while she had been so mad before?  
I ran to our room, but she wasn't there, then I went to the living room, but she wasn't there either. This couldn't be happening, not again. She had taken my heart before and I had almost killed myself. She couldn't leave me, I nearly fell to my knees. Emmett caught me.

'You alright, bro?' he asked, looking somewhat confused at me.  
'Bella left us' I choked on the words.

_**Come on man, you'll see her tonight, don't be a baby. -**_ His words, though he didn't dare to speak them, made my head whip up.

'Back tonight?' I asked while I eyed him carefully.

She didn't tell you?' Alice asked incredulous, when she got in the room.  
'Tell me what? What is going on here? Alice!' i started to become angry and I couldn't believe the entire family seemed to be in on it, besides me.  
I was her husband for God's sake.

Then I saw an image of Bella running to her car this morning. I was well aware it was coming from Emmett's mind because it ended with him thinking _**- She looked hot in that catholic shool girl uniform.**_

She had transfered without telling me. I nearly burst out of my body if it was possible.  
'Where did she go?' I asked Emmett harshly.  
'Um, ... St. Paul's Academy.' he said silently, then he continued 'but she doesn't want any of us there. She would do it alone, she said. I don't like being the one to break this to you.' As he said the last sentence he put his eyes to the floor. I just punched him in the arm, so he would get the fact that he couldn't help any of this. So she ran after all, apparently the smell was too much for her. As I thought it through, I concluded it was the best thing. I probably would have killed her as well, if I hadn't been so intrigued by her when she was still human. Remembering her smell sent a shiver down my back. I knew what kind of monster I had been, I couldn't let her go thru the same emotional rollercoaster. It was for the best.

The day creeped slowly and I wondered if I was ever going to get out of this hell. There seemed to be no point to it without Bella here. I just wanted to run to St. Paul's to keep an eye on her. She would be so lonely, I didn't understand why she hadn't asked us to go with her. We all would have, I was sure of it. But maybe it would be a little strange to have an entire family transfering in the middle of the school year. I had to give her that much. If she had just talked to me before taking such a decision.

I thought I had been thinking like this all morning, but when I gazed up I noticed I was still sitting in Biology. The first period hadn't passed yet. This was going to be horrible. At least I would get to see my family at lunch, but I was on my own during classes. There was no class I had in common with the rest of my family. Such a let down for the moment. I decided to listen to my class mates minds, maybe they could keep my mind busy for the moment. Thinking of Bella was not doing me any good, it only made the waiting more unbearable.

_**Is she sick again? Or did she stay away because of me -**_ I heard Tim think. Why would stay away for him? Besides the obvious, which he couldn't know ofcourse. I decided to listen some more.

_**Maybe I shouldn't have asked her out, when I saw her looking so down in the hallway yesterday. I should have waited. At least untill she was over this Edward character. -**_ So he asked her out, did he, the little bastard. And what did he mean by being over me. Had she told him we broke up or something? I started to panic a little, my heart would have broken into million little pieces, but then again I had no heart, but still I could feel it ache.

Then he replayed exactly what had happened yesterday. I gasped when I saw how horrible she had looked, full of agony and grief. This couldn't be because I ran out, she of all people should know how I feel and what makes me tick. Maybe it had been his smell, but that didn't explain the grief I saw on her face. Or she had been planning this transfer much sooner than I had realized and she was just waiting for the right motivation.

He had gone up to her slowly, his eyes constant on her face. He had marveled and wondered at such a beauty, but he kept it to himself. Instead he had tried to make the conversation as light as possible.  
'Hi, Bella.' He had said, she just nodding in return, holding her breath ofcourse, which he thankfully didn't notice.  
'Are you okay?' He had asked then and then she had looked right into his eyes. He had melted right there and couldn't seem to keep any coherent thought at that point. She seemed to deliberate for a moment, before smiling widly and answering him. 'Fine, thank you, Tim. How are you today?'

It had been the first time he had heard her voice and his heart had started to beat wildly at such a beautiful sound. It sounded like the most beautiful kind of music in his ears. He had blushed and said. 'Fine, but I could be better.' This answer seemed to have confused Bella and she looked at him, prompting to explain himself. 'I am very much in love with you' he had stammered, 'and I was wondering if you would like to go to the park with me sometime?' She had looked scared at that point, but composed her face quickly.

'I am sorry but I am really busy, maybe some other time.' She had answered him. What kind of answer was that, I thought to myself angrily. She was married, she shouldn't lead this kid on. But then she had said more  
'I really need to find Edward now.' and with this she had turned around and walked outside in a hurry. Tim had been confused and in his last class, he had spoken to a friend of his, Nathan or something, who had English class with us. He had told the kid about me running out on her and the hostile glares she had thrown me in class, which I hadn't noticed myself. So Tim assumed we had broken up and she needed to talk to me about that.  
He had convinced himself her answer about 'some other time' had meant that she needed time to sort things out with me and once she felt ready for it, she would go out with him. I raised my eyebrow at the boys stupidity.

I was glad I had more insight in what had happened actually, but as I was eager to find out more, his thoughts became clouded by all sorts of fantasies involving him and Bella. I quickly left his mind for the time being, I could afford myself ripping his head off right in class.

The entire morning I passed from head to head. Ofcourse human minds were always such a predictable thing. Finally, I got to a girl named Carly, she had seen Bella yesterday. Carly had been feeling sick and sat in the waiting room with a permission slip to go on home. Suddenly Bella had walked in, not even noticing the girl, she walked passed her directly up to the desk.  
'Miss, my name is Bella Cullen, I came to gather the papers my father called you about today.' She talked swiftly but polite. A hint of understanding came into the eyes of the woman behind the desk. 'Right, about the transfer to St. Paul's?' She asked just to be sure. Bella nodded in agreement.

So Carlisle had been on it as well. How could this all have happened without my knowing? Was I slipping? Were my powers decreasing in strenght? How odd.  
The woman handed her school files carefully and then added 'Very nice school and expensive.' She seemed to ponder that for a moment, but as she took in Bella and all her designer clothes, she just nodded. Apparently there would be no trouble there. We obviously came of good money.  
'Are you looking forward to your new school, sweetie?' She asked Bella, somehow desperate to keep my wife talking.  
'Yes, miss. Very much. It get's so crowded at our home, will be nice to get some alone time.' She smiled her most beautiful smile, when she said the words. I got stung again, how desperate she wanted to get away from me, I thought, but I pushed it out as I listened to Carly's story.

'Yes, I understand. I noticed there are seven Cullens, am I right?' she said motherly. Bella nodded again. 'My, that must really be something, all of you being teenagers and all.' The woman behind the desk continued, although she seemed to talk more to herself than to Bella.  
Bella had noticed as well and didn't feel the need to answer.  
She started tugging her bag to demonstrate her hurry.  
'Oh yes, well good luck at your new school, Bella.' the lady said.  
'Thank you, miss.' She answered before hurrying out of the door.

That was the last anyone had seen Bella and so there was no use in me picking their brains anymore. When I glanced up at the clock, I saw it was only two minutes before lunch time, so I started gathering my books very slowly and as soon as the bell rang I hurried out the door.

I was happy to be sitting among my family at the lunch table, although nobody seemed to be in a mood for idle conversation. Just their presence was enough. I had felt so extremely isolated all day. I wondered how I had managed before Bella. I would have had a couple of classes with my siblings then, must mostly I was alone as well. It had never bothered me, as it did now.

Then I heard Alice debating with herself on calling Bella. She wanted to desperatly, she loved my wife so intently it almost made me cry, but she knew Bella wanted to be left alone. Then she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up swiftly and went outside, I followed ofcourse.  
Bella had already picked up her phone, before we got through the door.

'Hi Bella.' Alice started carefully. I could hear Bella laughing on the other side. The sound made me feel all warm, she had such a beautiful laugh.  
'I knew you wouldn't last, tell Jasper and Emmett they owe me 20 bucks.' Another laugh broke through as she had said this. She wasn't angry at all.  
'I will, so how are you Bella?' Alice asked, with a smile in her voice.  
'Great, it's really beautiful here. I even joined the creative writing club, can you believe it.' She laughed again. She had always been crazy about books, so I wasn't in the least surprised. She seemed genuinly happy.

'And how are you coping on your own?' Alice asked, somewhat frustrated now. She didn't want Bella to be happy about the school, she wanted her back with us, just like me. So I was eager for the response as well.  
'Okay I guess. All the students are really nice to me, but I try to keep my distance, although they keep turning up at all sides of me.' A less enthusiastic smile came from the other side of the line now. Ofcourse they would be all over her. She was the living example of perfection. That's when i couldn't keep my tongue any more. I grabbed the phone out of Alice's hand and hissed to the other side. 'All boys, I bet! Did you forget about me so easily?' I couldn't help the jealousy that was burning through my veins.

I heard her gasping and then she just hung up. I felt even more rage now.  
She was never the one to like attention and now, she ... I couldn't even finish that thought. Alice stepped on my foot with unnecessary force.  
'You should not have done that.' She said, then suddenly smiling. She turned around and teasingly said 'Oh, you're in for it tonight, mister. I'd better get me some jewelry on the way home.'  
I understood where she was getting at and simply nodded.

I was still too jealous to smile. If I thought it was bad when we were together, what would it be, if she came to school alone. Those boys would be all over her. I should have gone over to that school as soon as I knew what she had done and gotten her right out of there. But was I entitled to be so jealous? Had her promise in sharing this kind of life with me, not been enough to be sure of her fidelity, her passion, her love towards me. If she hadn't been sure of me, she would never have carried my child, she would never had let me turn her. This seemed to settle my stomach as it felt very strange by emotion.

I didn't care to stay the last two hours, instead I went to the front desk, faking some sickness, so I could go home. Ofcourse, this was not hard for me to do, saying how I felt now. And ofcourse my dazzling power over females, as Bella had called it. Instead of driving home, I drove to a bookstore. I got a book Bella had talked to me about and let the attendant wrap it in a smooth golden piece of paper. Then I wrote on the top: TO MY ONLY LOVE, FOREVER. When I got in my car to drive home, I couldn't stop myself, I drove towards St. Paul's.

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**Well hope you liked it.**

**Thx for the reviews so far.**

**Review once more : )**


	6. Chapter 6 : Distrust

**I don't own Twilight**

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As I stood outside the building of the front office, I deliberated.  
Should I look for her, just to catch a quick glance at her or would I just wait untill school had ended to walk up to her? Would she be mad at me, for being there or wouldn't she? Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all. Maybe I should just drive home right now, but I was here now, a quick look couldn't hurt. So I let the random thoughts crush my skull. There was no voice familiar enough to tune into, so I just pinched my nose between my fingers as I let it all run through me.

Then suddenly I heard the name 'Bella', I concentrated as hard as I could to single the one voice out and finally I managed. It was a girl's mind. She was sitting next to Bella, staring outside the window. There were 2 trees that both touched the center window of the class room, so I began circling the building, looking for that picture. If I found this, than I would know where she was and I would just have to lift up my head and glance inside briefly. I finally found the trees, I looked around quickly to see if there was someone around. Since there was nobody around, I jumped inside the three from behind, were I sat invisible gazing at my wife.

She sat in the back next to the girl I had heard, chatting away carelessly. When a boy turned around to look at her, she just smiled shyly before turning away from him. I heard a growl coming up, but I controlled myself, she would probably be able to hear me anyway. I couldn't blow my cover here. I smiled as I thought of this, like I was some undercover cop or something. She was called up front by the teacher to read a poem by shakespeare aloud. As she moved forward, all mouth seemed to drop open as they gazed at my wife. I had tuned out all the mental clutter for the past moments, but now I needed to know what they were thinking. It hit me like a bomb shell.

_**GORGEOUS ...**_

_**GIVE IT TO ME MAMA**_

_**WHOOHOO, LOOK AT IT SWAY**_

_**WOW SHE'S GOT SOME NICE STACKS**_

As she smiled towards the class, while reading it went all silent in my head.  
With a couple of words and a smile, she had dazed them all.  
I couldn't stand much more of this, so I decided to go home.  
I wanted one quick glance of my love's face and at that moment I saw her sniffing the air, as the wind had blown inside thru the window.  
I swiftly jumped out of the tree and ran to my car.  
I drove home at a constant speed of 120 mph and reached the big house in no time.

I went upstairs to find Carlisle, but he wasn't in his office. Esme had heard me coming in and stood at the stairs with questioning eyes.  
'Where's Carlisle?' I asked her calmly.  
'There was an emergency at the hospital.' She answered silently, then she raised her voice a little, as if that was necessary 'What are you doing home Edward?' She looked at me, expecting a really good answer for leaving my siblings behind.  
'I couldn't stand being alone.' I answered truthfully. My answer caught her off guard, this was not what she had expected.

Then her maternal instincts kicked in, she came up to me slowly, putting her arms around me, pulling my face on her shoulder. 'Sweet boy, Bella will be home soon. And I'll make Carlisle phone school so they can adjust your shedule, maybe a little more time with Alice or Emmett would keep you in higher spirits.' I just nodded, although Alice or Emmett weren't exactly the fix I needed, always my Bella, desperately lonely every second she tore herself out of my presence.  
I pulled myself out of Esme's hug and went toward the piano, Esme who noticed my intent, immediately leaped toward the piano bench and sat herself down beside me. Sweet Esme, how easily I could make her happy.  
My music always lifted her spirits and so I played Esme's favourite several times, followed by Chopin, Debussy and ofcourse Bella's lullaby.

I heard Emmett's jeep pull in and looked up at the time. What was keeping Bella? Her school was closer to home than ours. When I got outside i could see the grim faces of Nessie and Rosalie. From all the shouting coming out of their minds, I could make up that they didn't like being pressed together as sardines and wouldn't let me forget the fact that I had left them behind at school. I sighed and turned around again. I didn't need this today.

_**Hey, bro, how about some wrestling? You game? - **_Emmett was always up for a challenge and maybe I could use the distraction so I agreed. He flashed his teeth at me and ran towards the back yard.  
We were rolling over the grass as I suddenly heard Bella's car pulling in.  
I jumped up and ran to the garage, quickly tucking the book under my shirt and then ran out to greet her. She eyed me angrily and I tried my best to dazzle her in the way she had told me I did. It didn't help, she sniffed the air, narrowed her eyes and I immediately knew she had recognized my scent during class before.

I tried to look into her eyes, but she was careful not to let me catch them. Alice broke our internal battle.  
'So how was your first day of school?' She beamed at Bella and sat her down.  
She wanted to hear every detail and this was going to take hours, I knew, so I sat down at the piano bench, pretending not to care, but honestly I listened intently to every word, waiting for something to make me jump up and forbid her to go there another day.

Bella absolutely glowed as she went on and on about the courses she was taking, the teachers and the students, everything seemed so utterly had met some nice people, but she was planning on ignoring them soon enough, just to avoid complications, but I could hear in her voice she wasn't really happy about this. She had taken a liking to some of them so fast, she seemed not sure of herself, when she spoke of ignoring them. She only spoke of female students who had been kind to her, never mentioned a boy.

Maybe for the best, who knows with all these emotional rollercoasters I had been on lately, I might go looking for one them, out of my mind with jealousy ofcourse. During lunch she had been seated with her creative writing club and they had told her they all had to finish a horror story by next month, to present at one of their club meetings. She laughed dubiously at the word horror and said charmingly 'Now there is a genre I know absolutely nothing about.' Alice had joined in and they went on laughing for what seemed to be hours. Then she came to telling Alice about English class and her eyes flickered at me.

'So, I was reading this poem, when all of the sudden a gust of wind came in through the window and I couldn't help but noticing how distrusting my husband seems to be of me.' She said it casually as if she was telling just another story, but her eyes seemed to burn with grief and anger.  
So that's why she had acted this way about me seeing her. She thought it was a sign of distrust and actually after thinking it over a couple of times, I had to admit to myself that she was absolutely right. I had deluted myself in thinking it was all about those boys, but after all they were no match for Bella if she didn't want them to do inappropriate things. She could break them with a snap of her fingers. So my fear must have been that she would want them to do those things, they thought of.

I jumped up of the bench and sat on my knees in front of her. I touched her cheek and handed her the present I had bought. I tried to talk my way out of it. I blamed it on impatience and wanting to give it to her sooner.  
She just narrowed her eyes, then she asked me in an accusing tone 'Then why did you ask me about the boys during lunch?' I didn't know how to answer that without giving myself away.  
'You see there is no fooling me, Mr. Cullen.' She said harshly.  
'I know, Mrs. Cullen' I answered with a sigh, while I let my eyes fall to the floor. She grabbed my chin and lifted my face to meet hers. She smiled and calmly said 'Ofcourse, it is kind of flattering as well, you being jealous and all.'  
I smiled back at her and answered 'Well, you did practically drive me crazy today, so maybe a little compassion should be nice.'

She kissed the tip of my nose and then kissed me softly on the mouth. When I wanted to pull her in my arms, she jumped back swiftly and slowly started to unwrap her present, teasing me on purpose, I was sure of it. Then she let out a gasp as she looked at the book, her smile grew wide and she kissed me with passion this time. 'You remembered.' She said shyly.  
'I remember everything you say, you are the most important thing in my life, you know.' I smiled wide and she let herself be dazzled, as she liked to call it.

We got carried away that night and it seemed like we were in our cottage again. The sense of euphoria was stronger then anything I had ever felt.  
As she got dressed for school, I whispered 'Forever' and she just smiled. She knew there was nothing stronger than our love and she didn't need it tested as I had. She kissed me then and whispered 'Even longer' and danced out of the room.

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**Shorter chapter, but a sweet one : )**

**Review please**


	7. Chapter 7 : Heart

**I don't own Twilight**

**Someone reviewed yesterday telling me how I contradict myself concerning Edward's ability to read Bella's mind. As I have mentioned before and as is also made apparitive in BD by SM Bella has a shield which she on occasion lifts to allow Edward access to her mind. Therefor I would appreciate it, if my intelligence wasn't questioned again. I'm not angry, just trying to clear things up.**

**Well on with the story.**

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I didn't know how the months had passed so quickly. Her absence still left a desperate ache in my heart each time I turned my car into the parking lot of the school. But here we were, finishing our sophomore year and awaiting the summer, when I would go with my girls and Jacob to see the Amazones. Nessie had built up such a deep friendship with Zafrina, it was almost devastating to see how her eyes would light up and she forgot everyone else around her.  
To be honest, I was a little jealous of the way they could talk forever, sending pictures back and forth only using their mind. I felt like an intruder, when I watched them, but I sacrificed each summer to spend with these big women.

Nessie almost bounced of her chair with excitement, as we sat at lunch that last day. I couldn't help smiling, as she showed this kind of childlike enthusiasm.

_**DADDY!**_

As I looked up to her, she smiled and placed her hand on my cheek. I saw the familiar forest and the three big women smiling as they walked forward.  
'Just a couple of days, Nessie. Try to be patient.' I told her softly.  
She smiled and then showed me a picture of my lovely Bella.  
'Yes, she is coming too.' I answered again, while the rest of my family seemed oblivious to our little conversation. Ofcourse, they understood our form of communication, but they spend no effort to analyze our every sentence, like I knew Bella always did.

Nessie's smile even grew wider, something I hadn't imagined possible.  
Then she winked at some girl from her Spanish class, she stood up hesitantly and looked at me. I just nodded, and then she went to join her little human group. With the whole Bella thing, I hadn't been keeping attention to Nessie's bond with some of the humans and when I realized what had happened, it was simply to late to forbid her to socialize with them.  
That would only been more suspicious, so I let her have fun with them, always keeping tabs on them to make sure, they wouldn't figure out to much.

But her presence just stunned them into disbelief, she was a very pretty thing and somehow they didn't manage to wrap their mind around her kindness. They al felt slightly unworthy to have her as a friend, so I had relaxed toward Nessie and her choice of friends. Ofcourse, they were right, nobody was good enough to deserve my Nessie, maybe not even Jacob, but Jacob had been so good to me in the past and I owed him so much. I had no doubt in my mind, he would be the best thing out there for my Nessie.

Hey, the kid couldn't help it if he stank, but besides the smell he was a very decent guy. As I saw Alice dancing off, I realized how deep I had been in thought. I quickly stood up and walked with Jasper to our French class.  
I was thankful Carlisle had managed to pull some strings and change my shedule. I only had two classes alone these days, Biology and English, and my loneliness had become more bearable.

Jasper looked as bored as I was, when we listened to each of the kids telling their plans for the summer, in French ofcourse. None of their plans seemed remotely thrilling to either of us.  
_**Have you finally talked Bella into joining her next year? -**_ Jasper asked me out of the blue. I answered his thought under my breath, impossible for the humans to pick up.  
'No, she seems desperate to keep me in this school with you, guys.'  
_**But why? Doesn't she want to be with you? -**_ I heard him thinking. His question ripped at some invisible wound, which only seemed to be there, when Bella wasn't around. I sighed and shrugged. My sigh had caught the teacher's attention, she walked slowly towards me, silencing the kid that had been speaking with her hand.

'Pas interessant pour vous?' she asked, ofcourse it wasn't interesting to me, but I couldn't just say that, so I looked at her and spoke in my most charming voice. 'C'est très interessant, Madame, mais j'attends les vacances.' She seemed to agree with my eagerness to start the vacation and turned around gesturing to the boy to continue. She didn't ask Jasper's or me for our plans, she was well aware we spoke even better French than she did and didn't like to feel outdone in some way. A slight whoosh escaped my lips and the time seemed to linger even more with each passing minute.

Finally, somehow the day had come to an end. I drove toward Bella's school with Nessie, I wanted to surprise her. Alice and Jasper, who normally rode with us, had jumped into Emmett's jeep, before I could explain. Alice had a slight smile on her face, ofcourse she had seen my intentions.  
I played with the black velvet box I kept securely in my left hand. I wondered if Bella would like it, but maybe it was a little bit to expensive for Bella. I pushed that thought out of my mind and convinced myself she would love it. Nessie had taken a quick peek at Art class this morning and she seemed to like it. My girls had very similar taste, so Bella would like it too.

I was somehow afraid, she would have left already. But as soon as I turned into the parking lot I could see her Ferrari and a sense of relief washed over me. Then I spotted her, she was standing with a handfull of boys and a couple of girls, debating the importance of female leads in the classics.  
As soon as we walked out of the car, her head snapped up in our direction.

First I could see the suprise on her face, followed with suspicion and then a big smile grew on her face. I could still not believe what I had done to deserve this beautiful, kind and intelligent creature, so I just stood there as I smiled back sheepishly to her. She beckoned us to come closer and Nessie almost ran toward her. I walked more slowly, wondering to myself why she would stay near the humans and not run into my arms. She hugged Nessie fiercely and then waited untill I had joined her.

'This is my boyfriend, Edward and my sister Renesmee.' She sounded smug when she said the word 'boyfriend' and I put on a big smile.  
'Edward, Nessie, these are my friends. Jim, Max, Oliver, Kimberly, Nick, Cathy, Jane and Peter.' She pointed each of them out as she spoke the names, never taking her eyes of my face. I had heard about the girls before, but never a word about these boys. She never mentioned she had more male than female friends and I didn't like it. I listened eagerly for their minds, to find anything else she might have been keeping from me.

_**She never mentioned having a boyfriend, well, should have known it was to good to be true. - **_I looked at this Nick guy with maybe a little bit too much of jealousy, because I could see him cringe. He was a very good-looking kid and this hatred building up toward him, surprised even me.

_**Wow, he is as handsome as she is, they look great together -**_ A smile touched my face again, I was really going to like Cathy.

**_Cute guy! -_** Jane thought then and I smiled at her as well

_**Ugh, look at her drooling over this guy! -**_ I couldn't help myself but I thought my lips must have touched my ears by now. Like she would fall for this Jim character.

_**Cute couple. -**_ So not all the boys where jealous of me, what a relief that she had sincere guy friends around here. Max seemed to be genuine in his intentions to befriend her.

_**Wow -**_ was all coming out of Kimberly and Oliver's minds.

_**So these are some of her adopted siblings, strange how she fell in love with her adopted brother. But look at the guy, it's not hard to do, I imagine.  
And according to her stories, all of them seemed to have formed couples within the family. Maybe I should put myself up for adoption, then I could be with Renesmee. Oh right, she had met someone outside of the family. No need to kill my parents then. Haha! They look so different and yet so similar. Look at those eyes and that pale face. Yet Nessie seems to have more colour on her face! - **_I turned my face away from Peter, he seemed to be well informed by Bella, maybe a little bit too well. And he was surely letting his mind wander down a dangerous path.

I turned toward Bella quickly, pecking her on the cheek.  
'I brought you something to celebrate the end of the school year.' I told her as she looked into my eyes.  
'You shouldn't ...' I didn't let her finish, I put one finger on her lips and then said. 'Yes, I did! You don't know how I missed you!' I was not aware of all those human eyes on us, so I controlled the urge to pull her in my arms and kissing her passionately. She eyed the velvet black box suspiciously, before I popped it open and displaying a golden necklace filled with blue sapphires and one ruby shaped in the heart at the center.

She gazed at it, clearly searching for words. The others seemed to be stunned as well at this obviously overpriced gift. Then she seemed to become slightly angry.  
'Edward! Edward, how much did this thing cost?' She asked acidly.  
This didn't go as well as I had hoped and turned to look at Nessie with despair. She just smiled and sent me a message through her mind _**- 'Compare your love with the necklace, daddy. That should do the trick. -**_ I smiled back at her.

So I turned to Bella, taking her hand into mine, ignoring it as she tried to pull them out of my grip. 'Bella, you know how much I love you. There isn't money enough in the world to express my love to you. Besides you know how little I care for money, your love is all that matters to me. When I saw the necklace I just needed to buy it for you, it reminded me so much of you.

We were all just cold, blue sapphires and then you came. A giant red, warm heart filling me with a love and a warmth I had never known. You are my heart and you will always be the only one for me.' I turned my eyes to the ground, feeling very shy and small towards this angel, who could so easily destroy me with just one word. I heard some of the humans gasping and sighing at such a display of devotion, but I didn't pay much attention to it.  
I was still waiting for Bella to speak and each silent moment seemed to rip out a part of myself.

She lifted my head with her finger and looked right into my eyes, through all the layers she could find there, she gazed straight into my soul and then she sighed, kissed me softly on the lips and said 'I love you too, silly.'  
Then I heard someone clear their throat, it was that boy, Nick, who I disliked already. 'So are we going or what?' He said eager for the attention.

Confusion crossed over my face. Bella seemed somehow ackward and hesitant to answer the boy. Peter quickly resolved this problem as he seemed to recognize the look on Bella's face and didn't like the hesitation on her face. 'Surely you should come too, Edward, along with the rest of the family. It's a celebration for all of us, another school year coming to an end.'  
Bella looked up smiling and answered before I could refuse him.  
'Yes, we will all be there, but we are going home first. Our father likes our family dinners and wouldn't like it if we bailed on him, especially on such a day. We'll be at the club tonight, all of us!' She assured him, I looked at her incredulous, but just shrugged then.

'Are you crazy?' I started as we drove home. She pouted a little and then looked up to me. 'No, I am not crazy! It will be fun and we need to show them how human we are! Always sneaking away, never going anywhere besides school is a little strange, don't you think?' She hesitated for a short time and went on, rambling the words as if she had practised this speech a hundred times. 'We are going to the Royal tonight. We are going to have fun, dance untill we should drop, as humans, maybe shooting some pool. We are going to show my friends that we are not some strange family who disappears after dark.  
Peter is already putting to much thought into this as should be...' She broke of at the end and the name Peter had brought shock on my face.

'Speaking of Peter, he seems to know a lot about our family and he IS giving it too much thought. He noticed our pale faces and I don't think it's a good idea if he sees the others. You have to be more careful around him, he seems smart enough to dig deep enough to find out more than is healthy for us!' My voice had taken up a few octaves as I spoke the words and Bella turned her gaze at me immediately.  
'He is a very good friend, he won't be any trouble.' She said softly.  
'We are not going, Bella! It's too dangerous! What if someone cuts himself in a drunk stupor and Jasper can't control himself?' The word seemed to have effect as I watched her flinch, she surely remembered that horrible birthday party, years ago. Then she pulled herself together and looked into my eyes.

'It's not your decision, if you don't want to come along, fine! But the others can chose for themselves.' She spoke acidly and forcefully as she almost glared me down. I sighed and decided to give up. The others would agree with me, ofcourse and then she wouldn't like going alone anymore. I almost smiled at this prospect.

We pulled up to the house and as soon the engine cut, Alice was besides us at the car. She beamed as she looked at the necklace.  
'Pretty isn't it?' She said. Bella nodded and wanted to walk inside, but Alice cut her off. 'Maybe we should shop for an outfit to go with it? The shops aren't closed yet.' She continued. Bella seemed to flinch but composed herself instantly. Alice saw she wasn't getting anywhere, so she added the next horrible words. 'You want to look pretty tonight, don't you? It's a special occasion, we should really do some shopping.' This had her effect at Bella, she smiled and walked gracefully towards the Porsche.

Alice beamed again and followed her in an instant, pulling Nessie along with her. So, Alice and Nessie are going along. This wasn't as I had hoped, but I was certain I could convince Jasper into keeping Alice home. The others wouldn't like to put ourselves out there, so they wouldn't get away with it.  
As I walked in the house, I saw them all fluttering around, already dressed in fine, but casual clothes. Rosalie was panicking, not sure on the colour of her nail polish. This was much worse than I had hoped. Alice told them ofcourse and they all seemed eager to go.

'Hey bro, we went hunting already, you should go too, if we are going to be pressed between all those sweaty teenagers tonight.' Emmett's booming laugh filled the house. Sweat, I shivered. The more they transpired, the more distinct their smell became. I couldn't very well stay home alone, so I did as he suggested.

I had caught up with some mountain lions and felt very good about myself as I walked into the house. I had seen the Porsche outside and I knew they would be home, but I didn't see them in the living room. I walked upstairs and was about to walk into the bathroom as Alice yelled out to me to stay out of her and stay out of the bathroom. I sighed and walked down again.

She was transforming my girls into beauty queens again, I sighed to myself. As if they needed any of that garbage on their face, they were the two most beautiful things on this planet already. Rosalie had on a short, strapless red dress with high heel, opentoe, black shoes and kept gazing in the mirror as if she was having her own pep talk with the mirror.  
Emmett was throwing Jasper on the couch and into the wall over and over again, it made me wonder how long it would take for Jasper to start defending himself, but he never did, so I got bored of that sight as well.

Jacob was just sitting there in front of the TV, watching intently at all those Monster Trucks on the screen.  
Come on, we could move with the speed of light, still it took ages for Alice to get the girls ready. I was about to walk in there as Alice came out, looking all smug. 'They are ready!' Nessie walked out first, I felt my jaw drop. She was wearing a light green summer dress, which went extremely well with her bronze curls. She had on the same shade of high heel shoes, showing off the muscles in her legs as she walked prominently. Her blush on her face only made her more beautiful when I looked at her as if my eyes were about to pop out. What had Alice done? This was my little girl and not some piece of meat to be sold on the streets.

I was starting to get furious, when all of the sudden Bella walked out, her golden eyes flitting around shyly. I couldn't help stammering as I told her how beautiful she looked in the blue dress.  
There were some red tints in the patron of the dress, that went perfectly with the necklace. Ofcourse, my wife was always beautiful, but I just loved seeing her in blue. And she knew it, she smiled at me tentatively then and swung herself into my arms, pressing her lips on mine urgently.  
'Stop it! You are going to ruin your lipstick!' Alice yelled out.

Bella didn't have the intention of letting me go, so Jasper really had to pull her of of me. Emmett's laugh boomed through the living room again and I really felt like joining him, how dreadful the prospect of tonight might be.  
She just looked around shyly and let Rosalie fix her lipstick, before turning to Jacob. 'You are coming too, right?' She asked him in her most charming voice.  
'I thought it was a family thing, I really don't think I was invited.' He said in an even voice, although I caught the hurt that flickered in his face for a second, when he had looked at Nessie.

'Oh, Jake, don't be stupid. You are family!' Bella cried out. Then his face turned into a wide grin. 'Really?' he asked and gazed at Nessie once more.  
'Ofcourse!' Bella yelled out, then she added at a more softer tone 'Why else would we put up with your awful smell?' He just laughed and pecked her on the cheek, before running toward Nessie and taking her hand in his oversized hand. She smiled at him and stroked his face with such an amount of love, I even became ashamed to look at it. What lovely children they were going to have, little pups with big bronze curls and inpenetrable skin. I laughed at myself for thinking such a stupid thing and then walked over to take my wife into my arms.

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	8. Chapter 8 : Club

**I don't own Twilight**

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I didn't feel well at all as we arrived at the Royal. All of them seemed very eager to take a plunge into the present night life. It was all so different from the parties in our times and ofcourse, the school dances were nothing compared to this either. I really felt uneasy, as Bella pulled me along, desperate to find her friends. Jasper was chatting happily with Alice about some party she had thrown for him ages ago. Emmett and Rosalie gazed into each others eyes as they walked on, seemingly not aware of the dangers this could present for us.  
Nessie looked a little stunned at the long line in front of the Royal and all those people dressed in fine clothes, Jacob just squeezed her hand in encouragement and smiled.

As we got to the side of the line, Bella smiled tentatively at the doormen and they let us in, not even caring about all those people waiting in the line. It didn't seem fair, but I couldn't think more of it now, because as we entered I could only notice the lump in my throat and the imagined sweat on my brow. Bella didn't seem to notice, she had probably been to a nightclub in Phoenix before and it would be grander than here, I was sure of it. She just walked through the maze of people, slightly pushing them aside, searching for a familiar face.

Suddenly her face lit up and she moved faster. 'Peter!' She yelled over the deafening music and let go of my hand to go hug him. It stung a little, but I composed myself quickly.  
'Bella! You made it! We are all down at the corner there!' As he yelled he pointed at something, Bella nodded and as she moved on, he said something in her ear I couldn't quite catch with all the noise. Was it always this noisy? It really hurt my ears, this was absolutely not the place for vampires, with our enhanced senses it seemed that every scream of the rock song bashed right into my brain, leaving a terrible thudding sensation behind.

We all followed Bella quickly as she swept through the crowd, finally we found her friends seated at a round table in the farthest corner of the place.  
As they looked up to watch us, their eyes grew big with adoration. They took in each of us Cullens with a wondering smile. I heard their minds marvel at such beauty, not quite grasping how each of us could be blessed with this quality. As Peter returned the party could really get started, Nick and Oliver stayed seated so they could keep an eye at the purses, the rest started shaking as I had never seen before. This wasn't quite a foxtrot or a waltz, but I quickly moved along with the rest of them, it wasn't hard at all.

To my surprise I was truly enjoying myself and I twirled around with Bella each time the possibility presented itself. Each time it was time to get drinks, me, Jasper and Emmett would go get them, ordering different cocktails and always spilling half of our drinks on the way. When someone finally asked about our drinks being half full, we just smiled and said we got too thirsty. Whenever nobody could see us, we would pour them out behind us.  
It wasn't too hard to do, considering everyone was too busy dancing around like what first seemed to be like monkeys. I laughed at myself for the comparison and suddenly I froze. I sniffed one more time to be sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. Sure enough, there it was, that familiar smell.

I looked toward Bella quickly and she stood frozen as well, leaving Peter looking ackward as she had broken off right in the middle of a slow dance.  
I moved quickly toward her, cutting in on Peter with an apologetic smile.  
It seemed like I was dancing with a huge rock of stone, she had no intention on moving. Her eyes burned in my eyes with horror and after what seemed to be ages she seemed to be able to move a little.  
'We have to get out of here' she spoke the words urgent and strong. I nodded and as we turned, there he was.

The entire family had suddenly noticed that something was very wrong here. With one glance toward us, they knew. Alice, Rosalie and Nessie started beckoning the humans to dance with them, innocently taking them farther away from were we standing. Emmett and Jasper had quickly moved toward us, each flancked at Bella's side, while I stood behind her holding her waist.

Even after noticing the strange scene, he was still unaware of all the danger surrounding us. He slowly walked forward and studied Bella's face.  
'Hi Bella, it's been quite a while. How are you doing?' Tim asked softly.  
Bella gazed up at me quickly and I threw her a careful, but encouraging look.

Emmett had put his hand on Bella's upperarm, just in case she would charge the little bastard. Tim's eyes narrowed as he looked at me with a transparent look of jealousy. He thought we were forbidding her to talk to him, but he couldn't be more wrong. If that was all I had to worry about, I would have danced right here on the table, but how would he know that monsters like us existed? He couldn't, so I didn't respond to his evil look. Jasper did, though.

He walked slowly up to the boy and hissed  
'Tim, you should really stay away from my sister. I will not warn you again!' as he spoke the final words a picture of him and the drowned boy flashed into my mind. I knew exactly what Jasper was capable of if the occasion called for it, and I couldn't let this happen.  
Bella stepped up then, pulling herself free from mine and Emmett's grip. She placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder and quickly pecked him on the cheek, while she spoke too silent for human ears. 'I'll take care of it, Jasper.'

She stood only inches from Tim and I could see the pain reflecting on her face. Her throat must have burned like an hot iron being shoved inside and I wondered how she could still stand there like that. If it had been me, I would have taken the boy right there. I remembered Bella's exquisite scent and my mouth still started to water. The only thing that had saved her was my fascination and the love, that I'd denied feeling for her so long.  
If she had been a stranger or someone who hadn't raised these emotions in me, I would have taken her life, I was sure of it.

'Tim,' she started as she gestured us to leave. 'I am fine. How are you?' We didn't move though, the danger was to great. At that moment Peter came up to her holding a shot of tequila. He pressed it in her hand and without thinking she poured it down her throat. I looked at her in horror, hadn't she realized it was tequila he had handed her? She swallowed it reluctant and for a second I thought it would make her throat burn even more.

But then she seemed to cope better with talking to Tim, and I dropped the matter. I wondered what had made her drink it and how it had felt, but I would wait untill we were home. No need for eager human ears to hear too much. She said thank you to Peter and then turned to Tim again. Although the boy hadn't answered, she seemed fully unaware of this fact, she started chattering out loud. 'I'm happy everything is ok. I am great, really. I am happy for Edward, for my school, my friends, I really couldn't be happier.'

She smiled her beautiful smile and as she turned around, she said 'If you would excuse me, I really need to rejoin my friends now.' And like that she left the boy, and us standing dazed. She came up to me quickly and kissed me with great passion. I realized she was trying very hard to distract herself from the scent, so I surrendered completely to her kiss and touch. When it seemed like we would explode where we stood and a public scene of us rolling over the table seemed inevitable, Emmett pulled me away.

'He's gone, bro. Get a grip, okay. There are still people present, you know.' Emmett said somewhat like a father scolding his teenage son, but then his booming laugh flowed over the music and we were all laughing then.  
I grabbed Bella back in to my arms and softly said 'You did wonderful and he is gone now, so don't worry, love'. When I wanted to kiss her again, Alice sourly added 'for now.' This made Bella flinch and in that second I just wished I had something to knock Alice with over the head. But then again, it wasn't her fault.

So the boy would still try to make contact with Bella. Why? I wondered. After Jasper's threath, the obvious menace we showed toward him and Bella dismissing him like that, hadn't he taken enough beatings. What could possibly go through his mind, to set himself up for failure time after time. He must have taken the hint, we practically knocked it into him.

But then again, Bella hadn't stayed away from me either, after I had told her so many times to stay away. Could he really be drawn to her that strongly? Just like she had been drawn to me. I told her not to be my friend, at the same time wished she would be and she sensed it, I guessed. All this time I thought her attraction was fate and meant we had been destined to be together. But nothing could justify Tim's attraction now and was she maybe drawn toward him too? Besides ofcourse for the obvious, his smell.

Jasper sensed my distress and a sense of euphoria came over me, I let go of Bella and pulled Nessie toward the dance floor and I didn't stop dancing untill we went home. Bella danced several times with Peter and Jacob, always talking busily as if she had a million thing to say to them. They were her best friends and I noticed how comfortable she felt around them, even more than she did around me at times. That sent a stung right through me again and I wondered how much closer she would let this Peter come. He was already suspicious about our appearance, she shouldn't let him get this close, it was dangerous. Not only for his life, but for ours as well. My mind was filled with these thoughts as we drove home in utter silence.

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	9. Chapter 9 : Tim

**I don't own Twilight**

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When we were in our room I couldn't resist asking her about the tequila. She just smiled and then she lifted her shield.

_**Thank God, he brought something to take away the fire. Ugh, it smells like gasoline. Oh, what the heck! Ugh, it even taste worse. It does seem to take away the burn a little, so that's a good thing, right? Maybe I should say something now. Has he said something? Probably he told me he was fine.  
I'll tell him that I'm happy with Edward, he should understand that much, right?- **_

__Then she replayed the conversation that had followed up till her thoughts that lead to the kiss. -_** Oh man, it starts burning again! Even worse with this tequila shot, not good! I need to take away the burn. How? The only thing that has ever kept me from thinking about the thirst was ... Edward! Edward! -**_ I smiled as I saw her desperate and intense kiss again through her mind, followed with all the passion that had started burning through her body.

This was too much, even for me. After all this time, the slightest memory of our passion for each other build up an even stronger passion inside of me. I didn't think, couldn't think anymore as I practically attacked her and pressed her body against mine in an almost violent way. Her gasp took away the visions of her mind and she surrendered again that night.

Or so she would have, if Emmett's voice hadn't interrupt us. He had spoken the words softly, making sure not to wake Jacob and Nessie, from the living room. But that was no problem for us, we would even hear a whisper from the woods if we wanted. Bella sighed and quickly shrugged into her bath robe. I just jumped into my pants, not bothering with the shirt.  
'You better have a good reason for interrupting us like that!' I said acidly to Emmett as we got downstairs, Bella just looked at the ground, waiting for Emmett's comment, which never came.

**_It's Jasper, he is gone, bro! He heard Alice saying 'for now', just like the rest of us. -_** As he thought it a flashback went through my mind. Tim's body.  
'He didn't' I just hissed.  
**_Not yet, but he will if you don't hurry -_** This time it was Alice telling me through her mind, careful not to alarm Bella. Then she showed me her vision.  
I recognized Blaine Harbor immediately, I ran out as fast as the wind, maybe even faster.  
_**Be careful -**_ I heard Alice's voice in my head as I ran.

Jasper was nowhere to be seen, as I skimmed the horizon again and again.  
Ofcourse not, I nearly smacked myself in the head, as soon as insight hit me.  
Tim wouldn't just be here, he would have to get him first, but where would he find him and would he lure him to the harbor or would he kill him first and then dump him in the water. I didn't know what to do, should I wait and risk Tim getting killed before I could stop Jasper or should I go looking for them and risk being to late when I just couldn't locate them.  
Jasper had been in the military and was very good at not leaving traces and finding the most effective and quick way to eliminate the enemy.

Panic seemed to fill every inch of my body and I felt utterly useless, now.  
Why couldn't I be a tracker or something, that would have made it easier.  
I'd rather be able to find people than having to hear their often so shallow minds. I remembered how I had left Bella to track Victoria and what a waste it had been. A waste that had caused us both such grief, unspeakable grief. I shook my head, I'd best wait for Jasper here. I knew he would turn up here eventually, I'd just had to keep hoping he would lure him back here alive, so I could put a stop to this madness.

I hoped desperately that Jasper wouldn't put up a fight, Tim didn't need to be exposed to a vampire brawl. That would complicate things even more, if Jasper did put up a fight and Tim witnessed it, it would only give Jasper more reason to kill the boy. We must protect our secret, it was one of the basic rules of the vampire world and to expose a human like that, would be unforgivable.

I heard very soft footsteps coming from behind me, too soft to be human. I straightened my back, fought back a hiss and then desperation got the better of me. I let myself fall down to my knees, putting my face in my hands. Through my fingers, I spoke the words 'What are you doing here?'

Bella put her arms around me and held my gaze as she said 'You left so quickly and you didn't even tell me why, then I noticed Jasper wasn't there and I became worried. The others wouldn't answer me, so I just followed your scent.'  
'You have to get out of here, love. Just listen for me once, please.' I begged her, our eyes still locked together.  
'Why? Wat is going on here?' She asked, immediately suspicious.

I considered lying to her, but then again, how could I lie to this beautiful creature without ripping my own heart out? But the thruth would be too much for her to bear. She didn't need to know about how we had debated about her life all those years ago, but if I told her about Tim, she would immediately know Jasper would have tried do to the same to her then and it would hurt her, maybe even turn her love for Jasper into hate.

But what if someone else informed her of what had happened tonight later, wouldn't she be hurt even so much more by my dishonesty. So I decided to go with the thruth.  
'I am waiting for Jasper, to stop him ... from killing ... Tim' the words came out hesitantly, but somehow I managed to get them over my lips.

Her face looked even paler than it had, she started to growl.  
'What?' She nearly screamed as she struggled to get the word out.  
'He's going to kill Tim and Alice saw him standing here with Tim's ... dead body.' I try to speak the words as calmly as possible.  
'You stay here and keep an eye out for Jasper!' She yelled as she ran through the trees.  
'Why? Wat are you going to do?' I yelled after her. She turned around and was an inch away from my face in an instant.  
'I'm going to wait for him at Tim's house.' She said it calmly, but something in her face said she wasn't calm all at. Her words seemed to have ripped a hole in my chest. 'You know where he lives?' I asked as I noticed my voice sounded wrong somehow. She nodded and ran towards the trees again.  
In the blink of an eye she was gone and I stood there again, waiting.

The night seemed to last forever as I waited there, each second growing more intense and anxious. I glanced on my watch and saw Bella had left almost an hour ago, what could be keeping her so long? Surely she must have caught up with Jasper by now and been able to reason with him.

But what if she hadn't been able to reason with her and they had fought?  
What if my sweet wife had been wounded, wounded by Jasper? A growl escaped my lips. If she had wounded him, she would have been back here, with him by now. Or what if he had hurt Tim and there had been blood spilled and she was feeding on him? What if he had seen them fight? I couldn't stand this any longer, so I ran towards the trees where I had seen her running. Sniffing frantically, trying to follow her scent. It had started to drizzle a little and with each drop the scent grew fainter and fainter.

Somehow I managed to follow her scent all the way to a small red house, not that far from the harbor. This must be the place, because her scent was all around the place. Had the scent spread so easily on one night? Or had she been here more often? My eyes narrowed as I walked toward the back of the house. That's when I heard the snarling. In less than a second I saw what was happening.

I saw Tim lying unconscious in the high grass, Bella in front of him in a crouch and Jasper circling her, trying to find her weakness to take her out.  
'Bella, we have to take him out now. One day you'll expose us all, we don't need to take that risk.' Jasper spoke gentle and soft, but he never kept his eyes of of my wife while he kept moving in half circles. Bella just growled and snapped her teeth. I wanted to walk toward her, but she hissed at me and I backed away, startled that she would show such hostility towards me.

Why did this boy matter so much to her? Even more than me, it seemed.  
As she had straightened from her crouch, feeling no need to lurge herself at Jasper and being able to shield the boy better, I heard Jaspers mind.

_**Her legs! Now! -**_ He had just thought it and I launched myself towards him.  
As we tumbled across the grass, we suddenly heard the boy moaning.  
Three heads snapped up in the direction of Tim at the same time.  
This was it, my biggest fear, besides the actual death of the boy that is.  
The exposure of all of us, he must have seen our unnatural speed, our animal like moves, this couldn't get any worse.  
Jasper and I stood up quickly, glaring at the boy.

"Bella? What are you doing here? What ... How ... Who?' He stammered as he tried to take everything in. He looked at Jasper and me in confusion and as he looked at Bella his confusion turned into suspicion.

_**What am I doing here? How did I get outside? What are they doing here? - **_His mind was filled with questions, but it seemed he hadn't seen anything of what had happened here, so I just let out a sigh. Jasper saw me relaxing and understood what I had heard, he seemed to relax a little as well.  
The only one who stood frozen and seemed impossible to move was Bella, she just stared at the boy, never speaking a word.  
Jasper moved toward them and grabbed Bella's arm firmly as he pulled her back. I went toward the boy and asked him if he could sit up.

I helped him to sit up straight and he cringed under my cold hand. I nearly kicked myself in the head for making such a mistake, but he seemed oblivious to my cold skin. He just searched Bella's eyes as his were filled with questions. The jealousy burned in my body and my eyes, but i composed myself and spoke as normal as I could manage for the time being.

'How did you get out here, Tim? Do you remember anything?' I needed to be sure he didn't know anything.

'I don't know, I was sleeping when I heard a sound, i think and I remember getting up to see and feeling something against my head, then nothing.' He seemed disoriented and kept looking around as he explained. I nodded and continued in a soothing voice 'It's okay, you're lucky we found you. We must have scared him off, whoever it was.'  
His eyes grew bigger as he looked at the trees. His face became frightened and he seemed to become smaller and smaller as I looked at him.

_**But what are they doing in my backyard? So they scared them off, okay. But somehow they decided to come check out my backyard, why? - **_I heard him thinking as his mind seemed to become clearer. Without thinking I answered his questions

'So we were walking and Bella thought she heard a sound, so she wanted to check it out, that's when we saw you lying in the grass.'  
He looked at me wary for a second and then suspicious again.  
'Don't worry you're safe now, I just wanted clear up how we came to be in your yard.' I explained to him, he seemed to accept this explanation and nodded his head in understanding.

'Maybe we should go now? Tim seems alright enough to me and we really should get our sleep. Bella, Edward' Jasper's voice had become patronizing and we obeyed immediately, following after him as he walked toward the front of the house. Tim ran after us.  
'Thank you guys, I owe you.' He said and started crawling through his window, his efforts made me chuckle.

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	10. Chapter 10 : Nessie's song

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We were sitting in the airplane, none of us had mentioned the Tim incident and I was becoming desperate. I spend my time brooding over the how's and why's concerning Bella's actions of that night, but I didn't have the nerve to bring it up.  
I didn't want to put any unnecessary strain on Bella. Nessie seemed oblivious to our strange behaviour and bounced in her chair, while she chatted away with Jacob about the big women and the beautiful forest.

Jacob had heard the stories hundred of times, not to mention was always around when we had seen Zafrina and the others, so he didn't need to hear this.  
Yet he just smiled and hung on every word that came out of my Nessie's mouth, he nodded when necessary and boomed with laughter whenever Nessie said something funny. It was truly a delight, their love was so pure and so good, not to mention how his adoration and devotion to my daughter made my own heart swell.

Lately they slept in the same room and it had concerned me, but she was a grown up and needed to go her own way sooner or later. Besides they hadn't done anything appropriate, i would know, I listened tightly whenever they went to their room, as soon as I heard Jacob snoring, I could relax again. They wouldn't risk doing such a thing without my blessing, especially not in a house full of vampires, with all the superhearing and other gifts.

The mind reading was a curse at times, as I accidently had stumbled on Emmett's and Jasper's mind during their most intimate moments with their spouses. Alice had the same problem, besides being able to predict the dangers and the stock markets, it could be a curse for her as well. I remembered when she had seen me and Bella in one of her visions, the next day she had shuddered each time she saw my face, along with sending me unconscious replays of the nightly events. For me these were very pleasant events of course, but none I wished to share with my siblings.

And ofcourse there was Jasper who could take away your feeling of lust, whenever he felt like it. I knew when he had done so with Rosalie, Emmett had been sulking all day and we couldn't stop laughing each time we saw them. Rosalie running after him, apologizing and he looking so terrible unsatisfied. Jasper had replaced her lust with a feeling of insecurity, a very strange feeling for Rosalie and she had spent each minute redoing her nails, brushing her hair, any useless attempt to make her feel better.

Afterwards she handled Jasper ofcourse and made him promise never to make her feel like that before. It had been the worst experience of her vampire life, which made me wonder how anyone could value her appearance more than her life. After all the attacks and fights we had survived over the years, I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that the wrong shade of nail polish could be worse, but then again ... Rosalie will be Rosalie, right. No logic in that shallow little mind.

Bella suddenly put her head on my chest as she sighed, studying the faces of Nessie and Jacob, with the most endearing smile on her face. I absentmindedly started playing with her hair and let the feeling of bliss wash over me, in this seemingly innocent gesture. How odd, that all these human feelings, that had been supressed for almost a century only seemed to grow deeper and stronger with each moment I spend in the company of this beautiful, good and kind creature. The last couple of months I had been overwhelmed with despair, loneliness, jealousy as well as the deepest kind of love and bliss.

After a lifetime of numbness and indifference, she had truly woken me up in every meaning of the word. She had willingly offered me her soul and life, she had chosen me over a solid and happy future with Jacob, which I am sure he would have provided for her, if she had decided to give in to the feelings she had towards him. Still, I felt so insecure around her as if one little mistake could ruin everything and she would walk out on me. Silly, I guess, but the fear was rooted to deep inside to ignore.

As if she could read my mind, she suddenly turned her face to me, holding my eyes with her intent eyes, then I could hear her thoughts flowing in my mind. She showed me how happy she had been that night in Volterra as I held her. Her personal heaven in hell. How she had resisted to sleep, just to be able to enjoy every second untill I would leave again and how my crooked smile always knocked the breath out of her, even after all these years.

I smiled as I wrapped my arms around her firmly. _What had I ever done to deserve this angel?_ I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I was utterly unworthy of this goddess. How stupid I had been back then to leave her, how I had wounded both our hearts in a way that seemed unimaginable. Our souls and hearts were truly twined together in the most purest, deepest form. I suddenly felt a lot lighter as if a massive rock had been removed from my chest. I kissed her and our kiss seemed to last forever. It must have been a long time anyway, because suddenly we were at the ground and people started passing by us to get to the exit of the plane.

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**COUPLE of months later**

The months with the Amazones seemed to have passed like seconds and we found ourselves back in the big house again with the rest of the family.  
Unbelievable how time could fly if you were truly and utterly happy.

Bella was out with Alice, doing some shopping for the new school year. Nessie and Jacob were at La Push for the weekend. Rosalie and Emmett were busy doing, ugh, well other things. Carlisle was at the hospital, ofcourse, so I was alone with Esme and Jasper. Esme didn't seem to pay much attention to us, while she fluttered around with a feather duster, wiping the already spotless furniture.

Jasper was talking about some visions Alice had had about the changes in the stock market.I couldn't really keep up, because I was to busy composing a song in my head. I already found some lyrics, but the harmony just didn't seem to fit the essential message.  
I kept repeating the song in my head, desperate to find the right harmony.  
Nessie would be so happy if I could play a finished song for her when she got back with Jacob.

_**An angel standing in the light  
That's what you are tonight  
you shine as the sun in my life  
and tonight you'll be his wife.**_

_**Tears stream down my face  
As I look at her standing here  
All covered in silk and lace  
And you are no longer mine, I fear.**_

_**Only yesterday I wrapped you in my arm  
holding you tightly, to never let you fall  
Swept away by all your charm  
Hoping you would never grow tall**_

_**An angel standing in the light  
That's what you are tonight  
you shine as the sun in my life  
and tonight you'll be his wife.**_

_**As we walked hand in hand  
happily across the beach  
Our toes sinking in the sand  
When you were still in my reach**_

_**You were only a couple years old,  
but you had an everlasting hold on my heart.  
I swore to never let you stand in the cold  
To never ever let us part**_

_**An angel standing in the light  
That's what you are tonight  
you shine as the sun in my life  
and tonight you'll be his wife.**_

_**How I will miss you forever  
How my arms will ache to hold  
You, who I'll forget never  
In my eyes always a couple of years old**_

_**An angel standing in the light  
That's what you are tonight  
you shine as the sun in my life  
and tonight you'll be his wife.**_

_**You'll be my little girl forever  
and I will love you forever**_

_**(AN: not really a song, just something I thought up)  
**_

So the lyrics weren't that great, the more reason to find a really great harmony. I was so determined and revved up in the song that I hadn't noticed Jasper disappearing.

'Edward? Weren't you going hunting with Jasper?' Esme's voice interrupted my flow of thought and I swiftly ran outside, following Jasper's scent.  
I caught up in no time. When we were satisfied, I had bagged myself 2 mountain lions and an elk, we silently walked home.

_**Have you asked her already? **_- Jasper's question caught me off guard, I just looked at him not understanding what he was getting at.  
_**About the boy and school? -**_ He just thought, somehow it sounded irritated.  
I shook my head and he let out an irritated sigh.

'You'll have to sometime, Edward. It's better you ask her as soon as possible, to avoid any more complications. We need to know what she is planning.' He spoke the words swiftly, but I didn't like the tone, he seemed to be talking to a five year old instead of me. I decided not to speak the words that were just on the tip of my tongue now and just nodded, but he noticed the defiance on my face.

'Edward, if she doesn't want you at her school, we'll have to make sure she is completely in control. We also need to know her motivations for acting in such a manner toward you and me that night and we need to be sure she is not coming back to our school, where temptation is the strongest.' Jasper's tone hadn't changed, but I knew that everything he said was true.

Especially her behaviour that night was of vital importance, had it been a hunter's reaction, like James' anger toward the old vampire who had altered Alice or had it been something entirely different. It was at the same time the most difficult question, the subject I had feared to touch all this time. I knew it was mostly fear for her response, not her anger. _What if she said something that would crush me entirely? What if this attraction was mutual?_

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**That was chapter 10, ladies and gentlemen.**

**Hope you enjoyed it.**

**Review please.**


	11. Chapter 11 : Talk

**I don't own Twilight**

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Bella danced into our room, wearing the most adorable little blue summer dress. Obviously she hadn't been able to hold Alice back on their little shopping spree.  
In addition to her new dress, she wore light blue open toed stillettos.  
She looked as lovely as a beautiful spring day and I smiled goofily at her in admiration.  
She turned off the television and turned on the stereo, she quickly put a cd inside. Before I realized what she was doing the familiar tune filled the room and she started dancing in front of me. The others recognized the song as well and I could hear them thinking exactly what was happening here. Emmett's booming laugh filled the entire house, more prominent than the music.

_**N**_**_ot Joe Cocker! That's so obvious girl _**- I heard Rosalie thinking  
_**Enjoy bro! Is she even wearing a hat? -**_ Emmett thought loudly

After this I tuned them out as good as possible as I concentrated on Bella.  
She had always been a little clumsy, but her new life had made her even more gracious as Grace Kelly or Ginger Rogers and I let myself fall softly on the bed as I truly enjoyed the show. How confident she seemed and how beautiful. Her dress had fallen on the floor and she was wearing a nice black french lingerie set, as she did some kind of pirouette suddenly the door opened. In less than half a second I had jumped in front of Bella and covered her in the sheet.

'Sorry mom, but I really need to talk to you.' Nessie seemed ackward after her intrusion, but she had no intention to leave and let us be wrapped up in our own little world, so I quietly and somewhat sulking left the room.

Emmett's booming laugh filled the house again, as he saw me coming down. Something in my expression must have set him off, but I couldn't picture my face for the moment. _Why did she have to come home right at such a moment? What could be so important to intrude on her parents like that?_  
I concentrated on catching the conversation upstairs and ofcourse I could hear each word.

'What's wrong, sweetie?' Bella asked gently.  
'Mommy, I ... Jake ... Well, I ...' Nessie stammered.  
'Just spit it out! What's happened?' Bella seemed to get somewhat impatient.  
'Well, I'm having strange feelings lately and I ... it feels like my body is always expecting more when we kiss, but ... And then Jake always pushes me away, but he won't explain. Do you know? What is this fire that keeps burning me from inside and what is it that I really want? Please mommy, tell me.' Nessie spoke very hesitantly, but the confusion and ignorance was sincere, I heard it all in her voice.

So she finally had hit this stage, I really didn't need to know, so I went for a run outside instead. I hadn't even reached the forest as I saw Jacob standing there, the pain and agony on his face.  
I slowly walked over to him, desperate to comfort this man who was truly my brother and would be my son someday.  
I stood silently besides him, waiting for him to speak. After what seemed to be hours instead of minutes he finally spoke.  
'Do you know what's going on?' He asked me  
'I think I have a pretty good idea.' I told him softly.  
He turned slightly toward me, keeping his eyes on the ground and constantly shifting his weight.

'Nessie wants a more physical relationship, but although I would love to, I am really scared. I mean she's half vampire, half human and I am wolf, what will happen if I impregnate her? I have seen what happened to Bella. I need certainty. Am I even making any sense?' As he spoke the last words, he put his face in his hands and I could see this was really bothering him. I needed to find a way to give him some peace of mind. As soon as the words came, I knew I speaking the thruth and not just idle words to comfort him.

'Jacob, you are made for my Nessie and I wouldn't want anyone to be as close to her as you are. Bella was only human when she was pregnant and very fragile. Nessie is stronger and she has our skin and immortality, so there is really nothing to worry about. Nothing will happen to her, you can be sure of it.' I spoke the words forcefully and with confidence.  
'And what will our children be like? Have you ever thought about that?' He asked again, still with the same desperation in his voice.  
'I am sure they will be one of a kind and maybe even stronger than us all. Haven't you told Bella once, that the imprinting is all about forming a more stronger pack and tribe? This was all meant to be, I am sure of it. So don't worry any longer and just be happy. It hurts me to see you or my little girl unhappy.' I seemed to have struck some cord, because his face seemed to light up a little.

I was glad to have Jacob around, he truly was a loyal friend to Bella and with time he had also become so for the rest of us. His love for Nessie had changed everything between the wolves and us and we were respected by them now. There was no more need for a treaty and when either of us was in trouble, we would stand together. It was strange how Bella had changed everything, because even before Nessie was born, he had even sided with us to save Bella. I wondered how some people had thought her plain or clumsy and not seen the wonder and beauty of this girl and her capacity to love had joined together mortal enemies.

My love, my Bella was such an unbelievable creature, even now, she seemed to be able to overcome the most difficult problems. She always thought I was saving her, but she saved me in so many more ways, that she never knew. Ofcourse her intelligence and power had turned out to be the key in battle, but she had saved me in such a more profound way.  
She truly had saved my soul, she had made me feel again, she had made me human again in so many ways. I punched Jacob on the arm in a friendly fashion, before running inside to take my muze into my arms. How I longed for her now.

* * *

Love,' I started as we were lying in each other arms that night, 'would you mind if I came with you to St. Paul's this year?' I put my heart in her hands and she saw the emotions on my face as I asked her this simple question. She seemed to be thinking to find the right way to tell me, and my stomach felt uneasy at that exact moment. She would refuse me, I saw it in her eyes.  
'Don't the others need you? You are the only one to tell them if our cover has been blown.' She asked hesitantly. Her eyes moved uneasy around the room, refusing to look into my eyes.  
'I talked it over with them and they understand. Besides if you say the word, you know we would all jump at the occasion to join you.' My face was composed as I said this, ofcourse we would follow her anywhere.

My family loved both of us and wouldn't want to risk losing us. But they had just settled in this school and they weren't truly eager to start over again. They had said it was alright if I left them to join Bella in St. Paul's, but in their heads they had screamed out the very same question as Bella had just pointed out. Ofcourse Alice would see it if they exposed themselves, but not untill it would be too late and she wasn't aware of what people were thinking. Not aware if someone had taken a special interest in one of us.

But I didn't care, I needed to be with Bella. I had survived those months without her sitting next to me in class, but only barely. She was my reason for being, she was my love, my life, how could I not try.  
'That would raise suspicion and you know it. Besides, I'm sure Rosalie isn't looking forward to changing schools again and risking on blowing our cover. I already spoke with her Edward, so don't tell me lies, please.' The words came hard out of her mouth and I could feel every inch of hope being replaced by the painful feeling of rejection. My mask must have dropped and she must have noticed my pain, because she suddenly took my face between her hands and kissed me gently on the lips.

'You know I love you, right. And you know how much it hurts me and how anxious it makes me to be away from you, but it's for the best. Just trust me.' Her words were soothing, but I didn't feel better. Not at all, all my hope had been washed down the drain and I just felt like an empty shell gazing into her beautiful eyes. Maybe I was handling this all wrong, I remembered how her will had crumbled into marrying me, just because her mind couldn't protest under the physical longing she went through that night in Forks, when we were utterly alone. Maybe if I for once could control myself long enough and not let me carried away in our passion, I could trick her into it.

I felt guilty doing this, but I truly believed I couldn't survive a whole year without her. I took her face between my hands and pressed my lips on her hers with a sense of urgency. I let my hands feel their way down and pressed my body closer, untill we were pressed together in such a way it felt as if we were melted into one person. I was aware of the fact that I was going to lose myself in this embrace any moment, so I struggled to keep my focus. As her hands moved into my hair and her lips became more urgent as well, I knew I would win. I softly pulled my face away from hers 'Don't you want me there?' I asked before moving my lips to her neck and every other place of her beautiful body. 'Ofcourse I do.' She gasped. A smile curled up at the corners of my mouth, 'then it's settled.' I said between kisses.

Her head snapped up immediatly as if she had woken from some dream.  
'No, it's not.' She managed to say, but the words sounded to choke her. I kept on kissing every part of her, feeling the victory that was just within my reach. Then she abruptly pushed me away. 'I'm not joking, Edward. You'll stay at public school. Just two more years and then we'll be together again.'  
Her voice broke, when she mentioned the two years and I suddenly realized it was hurting her as well. Then why wouldn't she just give in and let me be with her. This didn't seem right, to both of us, still she continued to be this stubborn. I couldn't make sense of it and let myself fall on the bed, defeated.

I couldn't stand this any more, her silence hurt me more than I could ever say, so I silently left the room and walked downstairs, desperate to find Emmett. Besides his jokes and constant uncomfortable remarks, I still found it more bearable to talk to him about my sentiment than to Jasper. Although I didn't need to tell him, Jasper felt them at the moment I came to near to him. But it wasn't the same, not as natural, when I spoke to him about it.  
Jasper eyed me in pity, when I entered the living room, but I ignored him and walked toward the kitchen, where I heard Emmett joking to Rosalie about baking a wedding cake for Nessie.  
When he saw my face, his face became amused 'What? No touchdown today?' He joked.

* * *

We were sitting silently on the porch and Emmett had just listened to my entire story. I had spilled out every feeling I'd had in the last months, including at Tim's house. He seemed uncomfortable, but he didn't want to show it. His face had become pensive, which on any other day would have made me laugh out loud, but now my despair was pulling me down and I couldn't help clinging to my favorite brother for support. Finally he spoke, though his words were hesitant.  
'Maybe you should ask her about the Tim thing. I see it bothers the crap out of you. And for the rest. She loves YOU, man, lighten up.' This wasn't exactly what I had wanted to hear, but then again, it was Emmett I was talking to here.  
As harsh as it sounded, it was the thruth and I needed to see that.

'I don't think it's cause she doesn't want you there, she's just looking out for the rest of us. You should accept her choice and take it with grace. Maybe you'll get even more action after missing her all day.' He had misunderstood my silence and felt the need to fill it. Ofcourse the last line wasn't necessary at all, but then again ... Emmett. I sighed and his face became slightly amused again. 'And for the Tim thing, I am sure she didn't mean to hiss at you, it's only natural when you're protecting something or someone, in this case. Don't let it get to you, okay. Just go ask her, she'll probably tell you the same thing.' He continued. Then suddenly Rosalie called after Emmett and he was gone before I could turn my head.

Ofcourse Emmett was right, she was just protecting him. She wasn't attracted to him, she knew what Jasper wanted to do and took it upon herself to save the boy. She hadn't wanted to hiss at me, but mistook my being there and she probably felt guilty about it. 

_Why had I made such a big thing out of it? Was I really so sure she was going to leave me one day? Even when she was still human she never left me, she never ran screaming out of the door, which I had expected she would do one day. Then why would I expect her to leave now, after turning her into a monster like me? She wouldn't have any place to go, she wouldn't be able to live as a human in that world anymore._ I felt myself relaxing a little bit, while I thought this, but somehow the ache and fear didn't leave my heart, it was like a iron fist, holding it there, unable to let it sour or even move. My body may have seemed more at ease, inside I was still a mess.

Bella hadn't moved an inch, she still lay on the bed exactly in the same position she had been when I left the room. She looked outside of the window and her eyes seemed to be in a far away place.  
I slowly lay myself besides her and took her hand into mine.

We lay there in silence, each involved in our own train of thought, when all of the sudden Bella's cell rang. Who could be calling now? It's after two in the morning. Bella jumped up quickly and took her cell out of her jacket, that laid spread over the chair.  
'Hello?' She said warily, probably as surprised at being called up at this time of night. Her eyes became confused.  
'Peter? Are you all right?' Her voice was truly worried. She said a couple of 'hm''s and then she stalked out of the room. _What was going on here? Why was Peter calling her at this hour and why was she so tense._

'Carlisle?' She called him silently as she stood at the top of the stairs.  
He must have been right beside her, because her smooth voice quickly explained. 'Peter is hurt, he says he is near the forest by the harbor and he feels to strange to move. Could you come with me to check it out?' I followed after them as they quickly ran toward the Ferrari picking up Carlisle's bag standing near the door, without giving them the chance to protest I quickly jumped inside of the car. Ofcourse the Ferrari was fast, but there wasn't much room, so Carlisle and I sat pressed together, as Bella sped down the road.

Bella's look was distant again, as Carlisle worked on Peter with a certain precision. Apparently the boy had been attacked by some kind of animal and it had left a big cut in his upper arm. He also felt really strange, Carlisle was worried the animal might have had rabies and suggested Bella would take him to the hospital for shots. Bella quickly dragged the boy to her car and then we saw her speeding away. There hadn't been room enough for us, so we ran home in silence, looking around to see what kind of animal had attacked Peter. But there was no sign of any kind of animal in the woods.  
More so, it was strangely silent and void of wildlife in the forest.

* * *

Bella came home the next morning with a kind of relief written on her face.  
It was the first day of school and the others had gone already. I stayed behind to hear what had happened, but she didn't give me the chance to ask. She ran upstairs, changed into her clothes and kissed me goodbye, before running to her car. I just stood there for a while, dumbfounded, before I quickly ran to my volvo to get to school.

Ofcourse I was late, but I didn't care at all. I quickly moved to class and didn't even look up as the teacher started scolding me for being so late.  
I sat down quietly next to Emmett and started doodling.  
**_So, how's the kid -_** Emmett asked me.  
I just shrugged. He didn't pay much attention to me after that.  
He was fantasizing about Rosalie and I couldn't wait to jump up as soon as the bell rang.

Didn't I have enough things to worry about, without being dragged into his sexual imagination. The next hours seemed to be more easy. I sat next to Alice, who was too busy concentrating on Jasper to notice my distractions. They had all taken different courses to make sure one of them was always in my classes, so I would get through the year more easily. It was very considerate of them, but at times as these, it didn't seem to matter. I was too much out of reach to even notice the human minds around me, let alone theirs. The day dragged, but as any day it also came to an end. I didn't wait for any of my family to ride along with me. I was already in my car, before the bell had ended with ringing.

I drove straight to St. Paul's, I would see how Peter was doing and then I could ask Bella about Tim as soon as we got home. Her friends had seen me, so there was no need why I should stay hidden. When I got to St. Paul's, Bella's car was already gone and I could see Nick and Jane sitting together under a tree. I slowly walked towards them, as they caught sight of me, they just smiled.  
Jane got up and came to meet me halfway. 'Hey, Edward. Bella has already gone home.' She said in a very polite tone. As Nick stood up reluctantly, I caught some of his thoughts, apparently I had interrupted some intimate moment here. I quickly took my leave and went back to my car.

* * *

When I got home, Bella was writing some short story about aliens. Obviously the club had moved on to science fiction, this time. Her story about werewolves had gotten her a blue ribbon and she was very serious about this writing thing. I just sat beside her, waiting for her to finish or take a break. I sat for hours, on occasion she would grab my hand and press her lips against it, but she seemed to be overflowing of inspiration, so I didn't break her flow of thought. Actually as I peeked over her shoulder, the story was pretty good, very good even so.

These aliens had infiltrated the bodies of 4 students, but to survive they needed to make love to people, they needed the fluids to survive, they fed of these fluids. They had never known love in their life and in their pursuit of the necessary liquid to survive, one girl had fallen in love with this strange boy. But her body ached for him to make love to her to survive, but he just kept her at a distant. She fell more and more in love with him and after a while she couldn't seduce anyone else, but the boy still didn't attempt to touch her, so she was sure she would die. It was maybe a very strange story, but I liked it.

When she realized I was reading her every word, she suddenly turned around feeling self-conscious. She threw her books over the written pages and grabbed me into her arms. She kissed me, gently at first, then more urgent. Untill she couldn't take it anymore and pulled me along with her toward our bedroom. Emmett seemed to be right about the more action thing. I laughed with myself and let myself get entirely swept of my feet by this gorgious creature.

When we were lying together in the most serene bliss, I suddenly couldn't help myself. I turned to face her and said the words that had burning me for so long. 'Love, why were you so hostile to me that night with Tim?' She seemed to be shaken for a moment, not knowing were this came from. Then she relaxed and smiled.  
'I thought you were going to kill him as well, but as soon as I realized you had told me about Jasper and that you wanted to stop it as well, I started feeling guilty. I am so sorry, Edward. You know I could never do anything to hurt you. I love you.' The words came quick that I really had to listen to hear them. I smiled and kissed her again, then I pulled her in my arms.

'But why did you protect him in such a way and how did you know where he lived?' The questions all blurted out and I felt her stiffen. Maybe I shouldn't have asked, but then I would have beated myself up over it for much longer.  
I needed to hear the thruth, to understand. Not hearing her mind was still very hard for me and even more since I noticed there were things she didn't tell me. I played the role of jealous husband for too long now. I wanted to go back to that carefree feeling, that wonderful feeling we had shared for over 8 years now. She looked into my eyes with cautious, not knowing what she was looking for and then she pulled back a lttle.

I could have kicked myself for bringing this up, it seemed to really bother her. I could be ripped apart about it and not care, as long as she didn't have to feel any guilt or pain. _Why couldn't I just have kept my tongue? What an ignorent fool I was. Now, I had hurt the one object of my affection, just because I was an self-conscious, jealous fool. _As she, without a doubt, watched the emotion flickering in my eyes, she suddenly spoke, though it was slow and calculated. Not her way of talking

'I tried to desensitize myself, as you had done all those years ago. You told me being around me made it easier for you, so I tried it, in hope that someday I could sit next to you again. But it didn't work though, so I gave up on it very quickly. As for being protective of him, I don't know why that is. I worried constantly about me killing him and then you told me about Jasper's plans. It didn't seem right and I needed to stop it. If I could supress this need to kill him, than why should Jasper...' She stopped, struggling to find the right words.

'I mean, we don't kill people, well Tim is also human and this is my problem. I have done everything in my power to prevent myself from killing him, I don't long these attempts to be in vain. Everyone should just let him be, we'll finish high school in a couple of years and then we'll go to college, not seeing him again. So I don't see the need to kill him to protect me.' She had spoken too quickly again, but as being a vampire has it's upsides, I had caught every word of it.

My heart seemed to break free from the iron wrist and to fly around as a bird. All my assumptions had been false, she never stopped loving me and she hadn't been attracted to him other than the obvious way. I let the overwhelming sensation of utter hapiness come over me, then I pulled Bella into my arms to take her along in my bliss.

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**Review please.**


	12. Chapter 12 : Present

**I don't own Twilight**

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Bella hadn't seen Peter in weeks and it had made her extremely anxious. That night she had taken him to the ER and the doctors had given him the necessary shots. They had assured Bella, that everything was going to be fine, yet he hadn't been back to school. He didn't call, no contact at all and Bella seemed to get more anxious with every passing day.  
'Has he changed schools? Did they move? Why hasn't he called?' she asked that night as we were watching a romance from our bed. I didn't answer, I knew her well enough by now, to know she was mostly just muttering to herself.  
'That bite, it couldn't have been a vampire, could it?' These words surely drew my attention and I sprang up to take her in my arms.

'No, love. Then he would have been writhing in pain, by the time we reached him. We would have noticed the scent of another vampire. Don't strain yourself like this.' I told her softly as I repeatedly kissed her forehead.  
'The scent? There was no animal scent either.' She spoke the words and I remembered how we hadn't been able to find an animal, how there had not even been an animal around in the entire forest. And I hadn't realized, but she was right, there hadn't been a scent at all.  
'Maybe, he crawled away before we reached him and that might be why we hadn't caught the animal's track.' I said in my soothing voice, but to be honest, I was also trying to sooth myself. This was too strange for words.

She dropped the matter and tried to focuse on 'The Notebook', as I just learned the movie was called. Although she didn't mention again, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about it over and over. After a while I decided I was probably right and the boy had moved, so we didn't notice the scent.

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One night, nearly a month after that night that Peter had been attacked, Bella came home excited. She was dancing around and talking constantly about Peter.  
He had been very sick after the bite, been in a constant fever and throwing up for weeks, but it hadn't been rabies, maybe the animal carried some other diseases. When his fever finally dropped after a couple of weeks, he had gone with his family to the Rocky Mountains. They believed the clean mountain air would clean out his system and he felt stronger than ever. She said she had noticed he was in good health, because his blood smelt very potent. She had never noticed before, but she believed it was because it had been so long, she might not remember exactly how his blood had smelled before.

He had also met some girl, Nicky and wanted to go on a double date tonight. As she told this, she suddenly remembered the date and hurried me to get ready. I wasn't really in the mood to go watch some movie tonight, but I couldn't disappoint Bella, she had missed her friend for so long. I took a quick shower and put on a cream sweater with jeans. Bella had transformed herself into a real femme fatale and my eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as I saw her dancing with Emmett in a short, tight, red dress. Bella never wore red, except for her kidnapped shirt in the past.  
Emmett seemed to enjoy himself a little bit too much, so I quickly tapped him on the shoulder and took over, as I glanced towards Rosalie I saw she smiled at me with relief. Obviously she hadn't liked the dance at all, just like me and was grateful I had interrupted. _As if Emmett would ever betray her or me, what a stupid thing to think._

'Are you going out like this?' I hissed into her ear, she quickly snapped up her head from my shoulders to glare into my eyes.  
'What's wrong with the way I look?' She hissed back.  
'Nothing, but isn't it a little bit too provocative for a movie?' I lowered my voice now. She smiled amused at my reaction and just shook her head.

We stood outside of the theater waiting for Nicky. Bella had been right, the scent of Peter's blood was very strong, I had never noticed this before. _Had it always been this way? Or had the others around him last time, somewhat covered up his scent?_ I couldn't say, but that wasn't all, his scent wasn't that agreable. I surely wouldn't want to taste his blood, that was for sure.

Bella and Peter chatted away and I felt somewhat uncomfortable. I hoped this Nicky girl would be here soon enough, because I was starting to feel unwanted, like I was the third wheel or something. Peter was telling her about the Rocky mountains and how he missed it already. Then he said that he was sorry he hadn't been able to call her, but his parents hadn't allowed it. I was watching the posters, in search of something interesting to watch, but they didn't hold my interest at all. Then I saw a little blonde girl running toward us. Peter's face lit up as if he had been a little child who was rewarded with his first cookie. So this had to be Nicky. Not bad, not my taste ofcourse, but there was something about the girl, I had to hand him that.

'I would love to see the new Brad Pitt if you don't mind.' Nicky said as we were discussing what movie to watch. As soon as she spoke the words, it was settled. I wouldn't really be paying all that much attention anyway, I would probably just be staring at Bella throughout the movie. And Peter seemed all to eager to agree with anything the girl said.

As I had foretold, the movie couldn't quite catch my attention and I gazed at Bella in utter admiration. If she had been still human, she would have been blushing for the total two hours the movie lasted. She sneaked a peek at me from time to time, immediately turning her face away. After about an hour, Peter finally planted his hand with his palm up on the arm, waiting for her to take his hand. She noticed quite quickly and hesitantly placed her hand in his.

_Young love, how adorable._ I gazed at Bella again and she seemed to have grown tired of the movie. Her face had become pensive and just staring at the screen, without seeing anything. I touched her cheek for a brief second and her face turned to me. Startled at first, but as she met my gaze, she smiled and bent toward me meeting my all too eager lips.

We didn't even stop to catch a breath, although we should have to keep up the facade of being human. We kissed with more passion as each minute went by. We must have kissed for almost an hour, because suddenly the lights went on and I saw Peter and Nicky staring at us. I didn't feel ashamed at all at showing my affection in such a way, but Bella became self-conscious and bit her lip slightly. This almost made me jump her, Bella biting her lip was so sexy, I felt the hormones rushing through me, but I needed to focus. We weren't alone here.

As she got up all too quickly and followed after the others, I started counting down the minutes to get her home and press her in my arms, ready to surrender myself to her. But my hopes got crushed all too soon. As I walked out, I heard Nicky talking about some bar and Bella had agreed to go along for the ride. _Wasn't the movie enough? How much more did she need to torture me with today?_ I grimaced and Bella caught me, she started laughing and quickly moved to my side. 'That eager to go home, Romeo?' She wispered in my ear, her breath in my ear and against my neck, only made me even more wild. It felt like some hormonal episode I was going through. I breathed loudly and sighed a couple of time, then I was able to find my focus again, I just nodded in response. Her face became smug and she laughed again.

'How much do you want to go home? Show me.' She whispered again, she breathed more then before, on purpose I assumed and she spread her wonderful scent against my neck and in my ear again. I couldn't help myself in that moment and I gripped her waist and pressed her against me, kissing with a powerful urgency. I felt her loosing up under my grip and then she tore away her lips from mine, only to place them in my neck. A shudder came over me, as she moved down from my neck to my chest. Suddenly she didn't seem to mind we were in a public place and I had to remind her were we were. As she realized what I was whispering, she quickly turned to look at Peter and Nicky who were looking in utter shock and abashment. She straightened her dress and calmly walked toward Peter.

'I am sorry Peter. I couldn't help myself.' She said self-conscious. This time it was me who started laughing. Peter just eyed me and then told Bella that it was maybe better if he went to the pub with Nicky alone. 'It's a school night after all' he added softly. I liked this idea very much and before Bella could say anything, I grabbed her hand and nodded toward Peter.  
'Yes it is and we need our sleep, so we'll be taking our leave now. Enjoy, Peter, Nicky.' I said with the enthusiasm leaking through my every word.  
I didn't fool anyone, but I really didn't care. I wanted my wife and I wanted her now. There is no shame in that. We nearly ran to the car that night, eager to give into our bodies desires. We didn't even made it home, halfway home, Bella suddenly made a wrong turn, again on purpose, and we ended up in a dark part of the forest. There we finally gave in and the magic was so strong and beautiful that night.

* * *

'Edward, you still owe me a new car.' She reminded me as we dropped her off at school that morning. I made a face.  
'No, I don't. I didn't ask you to stop there. You should have known, love.' I said patronizing. She started fuming, I nearly broke out in a laugh, but I could restrain myself just in time.  
She walked angrily out of the car and without a kiss goodbye, she stalked to her friends sitting in the grass.

_**You shouldn't give her such a hard time -**_ Alice told me without speaking.  
I glared at her for a second.  
_**Okay, okay! Sheesh, I was only saying... Besides now you are finally allowed to give her a big present, without the drama, you are going to let the opportunity pass you by! You're even a bigger fool than I had thought -**_ Her mental monologue was really driving me mental, so I stuck out my tongue to her. Juvenile, but I couldn't think of a better response. She was right though, finally Bella wanted me to buy her something, without any problems and I was giving her a hard time about it.  
_What would I get her? A Porsche? A Mercedes? Another Ferrari or what?_  
_**Honda -**_ Alice hinted. Ofcourse, she had talked about one a while back.  
I would buy her a Honda, today if possible.

We were sitting at our usual lunch table as Alice suddenly came dancing in with some kind of catalogue. I didn't need to look to know it was a catalogue of Honda's. I swiftly took it out of her hands and started turning the pages.  
_What kind would she like?_ I would ask Alice ofcourse, but I had a fair good idea.

'What will she think if I got her a Honda S2000, a blue one?' I asked Alice softly. She put her fingers at her temples and her face went blank.  
_**She'll absolutely LOVE it, although she'd rather you bought her a silver one - **_She answered in thought, I nodded and she smiled.  
I pulled out my cell phone and went outside to call. I called our usual dealer and pressed on the overnight delivery, ofcourse that was no problem for us Cullens. Alice beamed at me as I came back in. She was always so happy if it involved Bella's happiness. There wasn't a Cullen, she loved more than my wife, besides Jasper ofcourse.

* * *

A single ray of sunlight lit up the room as Bella kissed me softly. In the distance I heard a truck and I tried to distract Bella from the noise. I wouldn't want her to notice and ruin the surprise by running out too soon. As she moved back to get dressed, I pulled her back on the bed.  
'You don't want a rematch do you?' She smiled as she spoke the words, so I just pulled her closer. Her amused tone in her voice had not been a rejection.  
'I just want to kiss you, you know I can never get tired of kissing your perfect lips.' I told her softly as I had now locked her in a tight grip against my hard body. She bit her lip as she was overthinking this, probably worried she would be too late for school if she complied.

As I put my lips against her sweet skin, her will seemed to crumble and she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I smiled up to her and her breathing grew heavier as she now felt her way across my chest with her left hand, her right still wrapped tightly around me. She drew some circles against my stone body and then kissed me with an urgency I hadn't expected. I heard the engine cutting in front of the house and I responded her kiss with the same amount of passion. _Just keep it together for a couple of minutes, Edward_, I tried to convince myself as I struggled to keep my focus and not just letting myself get carried away in this act of love. Her hands moved into my hair and she softly tugged at it in her passion. She pressed herself more urgently against my body as her breathing came in short gusts now. Then I heard the truck leaving, I slowly tried to move away from her, but she seemed oblivious to this fact.  
Her grip tightened as she pressed to kiss me again.

'Love, we're going to miss school.' I panted, trying to recover myself.  
'I don't care,' She spoke between kisses 'I want you!' Her body just enforced her words and she had no intent to let go.  
'Don't you want to see your present then?' I asked her as I tried to free myself again. She looked at me warily and then her eyes darkened.  
'A present?' She almost growled the words.  
'Love, don't start that, just look at it first, ok. If you don't like it, I'll send it back. Please, love, for me.' I used my persuasive voice and tried to keep her gaze as I spoke the words, knowing it would only help my case.  
She nodded then, throwing on a blue bath robe and stalking through the door. Her face was sour and her body still trembled with the unfullfilled desire. I followed after her quickly as soon as I had thrown on a pair of pants. Her eyes searched around the living room, wondering were I had put the present, I so desperately needed to show her. I took her hand and slowly pulled her outside, her face still sour.

'Oh my gosh, Edward, it's perfect!' She cried out as she threw her arms around me in such a tight hug it would have crushed me, if I wasn't so durable. She kissed me again and seemed desperate to get behind the wheel. She ran upstairs to change her clothes and in just a couple of seconds she was standing next to me again.  
'Want to go for a testdrive?' She asked me in a playfull manner.  
I swiftly got into the car, not even bothering to get a shirt.  
She absolutely beamed as the engine came to live, before I could say anything we were speeding down the road, keeping a steady speed of 120 mph. I laughed at the memory of her truck and the constant speed of 55 mph and how she had panicked when any of us drove faster than the limit.

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	13. Chapter 13 : Random

**I don't own Twilight, nor do I own SM or any characters she created.**

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Bella got home from school still glowing, but something was off. Her mind seemed to wander constantly and I couldn't take it. 'Love, what's wrong?' I asked her, worry thick in my voice. She looked up to me, trying to hide her discomfort, but she didn't manage to pull it of. She bit her lip for a second and then just dismissed whatever she was thinking.  
'It's nothing. Thanks again for the car, though. It's really such a great car.' She beamed for a second, but I wasn't going to let her change the subject that easily. I stared into her eyes and at that exact moment she had decided to lift her shield, to let me see what she was worrying about.

_Peter was sitting next to her in class, sweating constantly and moaning at times. He had told her he felt strange and needed to go home.  
She had agreed and she had gone with him to the front office.  
The man behind the desk had been to eager to consent with Bella's request to take home this vessel of germs.  
On the way to Peter's house she had noticed something being off with his scent. **Remember, Edward, when you told me my scent was all wrong in the hospital in Phoenix, well it was something like that -** _She added mentally_. _

_Then she had concluded he was probably very sick and been taking some special kind of medications, that messed up his scent. When she had dropped him of at home, she sat silently in a tree in the back yard to monitor him. He had started twitching and his breathing became more difficult.  
Then she noticed it was time to go home, so I wouldn't get to worried if she didn't get home on time. But her mind was still filled with worry and hundreds of questions._

After I had given her some time to think I decided it wasn't going to get any better. So I took her cell and started dialing Peter's number.  
He picked up at the third ring, his voice sounded hoarse I had to admitt.  
'Bella?' He had surely seen her number on his screen, so it wasn't such a strange assumption to make.  
'No, it's Edward. Bella told me you got sick. We are very worried. How are you feeling now?' My voice radiated with sympathy, although it was mere selfishness on my part. I didn't like it when Bella was unhappy, so I needed to stop her wallowing.  
'I'm better now. You can tell Bella she doesn't have to worry. Probably just a virus or something.' So he had seen right through me, he didn't say 'you' as in me and Bella, he had said 'Bella'. I let out a sigh.  
'That's a great comfort. I'll let you get your rest now. Take care.' At this I hung up the phone to see that Bella was standing right behind me.  
She had heard every word, no doubt and somehow her face seemed less anxious, so the call had done the trick.

* * *

That night we gazed up at the stars and the beautiful full moon, which always illuminated my wife's beautiful face in such a magical way, it took my breath away. It had become our little thing, each full moon, we would sit outside together, just enjoying the glow it reflected on our skin and marveled at each others beauty.  
Although I didn't think myself beautiful, I knew Bella looked at me in such a way and the same was true for her. She had always been self-conscious and I thought that her new life would have taken that away and showed her her true beauty. She had found herself pretty when she was a newborn, but after a couple of years her unsecurities had gained the upper hand again.  
We just lay there, still in each others arms, gazing at every part of each others face and body, as if it was the first time I was allowed to look upon this angel.

* * *

Bella had already left for school and I was still debating with myself. I wanted to follow Bella and keep an eye on things, maybe I would get to see Peter and know what was going on with him. I'd had some medical training in the past and maybe I could be able to tell what was going on with him. Although I wasn't sure he was going to back at school already. On the other hand, I couldn't just ditch without any apparent reason and I didn't even want to know what my family would think if I left them to indulge in my voyeuristic tendencies. Alice skipped down the stairs and came to a sudden stop next to me.

**_Don't worry, I already told Rosalie she could drive us to school today -_** Her mental voice was soft and sweet and I felt a smug grin spreading across my face. I adored my sister, she was always on the same page as me.  
I nearly ran out of the door, as I suddenly heard an even lovelier voice calling all for me.  
_**Dad? Are you still here, daddy? -**_ her cry out for me seemed to be urgent, so I ran back inside and up the stairs to the room of my little girl.  
'What's wrong, sweetie?' I asked her anxious.  
She touched my cheek and cringed as she showed me a heavy quarrel with Jacob about sex, followed by him storming out last night. Obviously he hadn't gotten over his fears about the potential offspring their intimacy could bring on. He hadn't come back yet and this worried her.

Ofcourse everyone argues from time to time, but Jacob couldn't stay away from my Nessie, he would come crawling back after never more than a half an hour and beg her for her forgiveness. Even if the fault was entirely hers, like in this case, he always asked her forgiveness, beating himself up for whatever she may had accused him of.  
I hadn't been aware of the fight last night, because Bella and I had been in our own little heaven outside under the moon.  
'He never told you were he went?' I asked more to myself than her, for I already knew the answer from her memory. He hadn't told her anything.  
'I'll track him down, don't worry, sweetie. I'll tell him to go to school at lunch time, so you can talk out your differences. Is that okay, sweetie?' When I told her this, I noticed she didn't like the idea of waiting untill lunch, but I wasn't going to make her sit out today as well. She bit her lip as she thought this through.  
I_**f he comes to school, we wouldn't be able to talk, dad -**_ She told me without using her mouth again, she really wasn't a fan of really 'speaking' her mind.  
'Sure, just wait here. I'll send him home.' I couldn't refuse my little girl and she did have a point. If they had argued about sex and the possibility of having extraordinary children, then I was sure school wasn't the place to discuss this with all those human, eager ears around.

I ran out again, not quite as eager as before, though. Every change to see Bella was a liberation for I couldn't suppress the feeling of despair and anxiety when I was separated from her. But tracking down Jacob to force him into talking about sex with my daughter was not really my idea of fun.  
So I noticed my feet moving remarkable slower than I had expected.  
I followed his scent, but the rain had started to wash it away, so I really had to convince myself to hurry. If I would take to long, his scent would disappear and I wouldn't be able to find him. And I definitely didn't want to go back home to tell Nessie I hadn't been able to keep up to my promise.  
He had gone far and I really had to focus after a while, so I could keep up with the scent. I slowly took in the surroundings while I tracked him. I was nearly at the Push, so I started running faster, not needing to track, for I knew very well were he was. I ran straight to Billy's house, where Seth was sitting in front of the house.

'Hey, man. Long time no see! How are you doing?' He almost knocked me over in his hurry to get to me. His smile wide and his arm had already swung out, so he could punch me friendly on the shoulder.  
'I am very well, Seth. How are you?' I couldn't help from smiling, whenever I spoke to Seth. He felt more like a brother to me than a wolf.  
'Fine. So you're coming for a visit or something?' He wasn't going to give me a chance to leave anytime soon. I shook my head and sighed.  
'Is Jacob inside?' I asked him then. His face changed and then he smiled again. He nodded and started walking towards the front of the house again.  
I followed him and as he sat himself down in front of the house again, I smiled at him again and knocked on the door.  
_**Careful, he's really freaking out, man -**_ Seth warned me silently.

* * *

Jacob was trembling heavily as he nearly shouted at me without speaking.  
-_** What's he doing here? Can't a man have some peace! If she sent him ... Grrr!  
Why do women have to be so nasty? Why is he looking at me like that? Crap, he is reading my mind again! Well, let him see! Who cares now right? -**_  
Then he seemed to control himself a little bit as he kept up with his mental monologue.  
_**- So if I don't have sex with her, she's going to get someone else more willing!  
That's it, mindreader! She would have sex with just anyone if I don't agree!  
How fucked up is that?!-**_ I cringed as he thought these things about my daughter. She hadn't shown me this, so she had edited her mind from me.  
_And what was she thinking? She couldn't be serious, right? That surely didn't sound like my Nessie._ I composed myself as I saw through Jacob's eyes how my eyes had nearly popped out of my head and my face had seemingly grown much paler than before.

I managed to speak with a certain voice, though my mind was filled with the terrible things I had just heard. 'Jacob, Nessie really wants to talk to you, she is waiting at home for you.' He growled and then he finally snapped.  
'No way! Do you have any idea how she made me feel? Hell no! I'm not going to talk to her like I am feeling right now. She hurt me as much as Bella used to do!' I flinched at that and he noticed. He lowered his voice and tried again.  
'What if I hurt her? What if I can't control myself in my anger? You ever thought of that, before coming to get me like some ten year old?'  
He was silent for a while and I hurried to answer, just to prevent him from yelling again.  
'Ofcourse I do, Jacob. I worry about that often enough, but I don't think you could ever hurt her. By the way, Nessie is hurting here as well and I am sure she will be more rational this morning. I am convinced she only spoke those words to make you more inclined to fulfill her wish. It is very unlikely my Nessie would ever do something like that and I think that somewhere inside you are convinced of this as well. She loves you, Jacob. That has proven himself often just go home now.'  
He had to think about it, but I could already notice that my words had taken effect. Though, he was still battling inside, his mind became more and more convinced that going home was the best decision.

* * *

I ran straight to St. Paul's, not bothering to stop at home to tell Nessie about the talk I had with Jacob. It really wasn't in her best interest, to face me right now. All the way to Bella's school Jacob thoughts kept playing around in my head. _Had she really meant it?_ Surely Jacob would give in at this point and give her what she wanted. But I wasn't exactly sure, it was what I had hoped for my daughter. I had always been convinced that sex should be forbidden untill a couple was connected in a much holier alliance, such as marriage. I remembered the agony and restraint on my part when Bella had touched the subject, before we were married and I did understand how energetic and consuming such a fire could be. Still I hoped my daughter would chose the right way. To think she even considered using any random boy to indulge her in this pleasure, made me feel sick in my stomach.

Ofcourse, there were volunteers enough, as I had to witness every day at school. Their repulsive, perverted minds never ceased to disgust me.  
With Bella gone, Nessie was now the focus of practically the entire male student body and it didn't please me one bit. I had comforted myself with the thoughts of her love for Jacob, but now with her statement she had made with such conviction, I wanted to run to school and claw all their eyes out. So they could never look upon my daughter again, but Bella wouldn't like it if I got carried away in such a manner. I smiled as I saw a picture of how Bella would be fuming, her lower lip set in a steady pout. Her eyes black with fire, but still that same kitty like anger that made me smile.

As I rounded the corner to her school, I pushed out all the nasty things and looked for her. She wasn't that difficult to find. I watched from a tree again, as I took in her bad mood. She was sitting next to Jane, her face sour.  
So Peter hadn't come back, yet, otherwise she would be sitting next to him.  
She probably didn't like sitting next to Jane, who just couldn't keep her mouth shut and kept on telling about every minor thing Nick had said or done.  
Then I saw Bella glaring at someone in the front of the class room and I froze.

_What was going on? Did they have a fight? Did he hurt my Bella? Oh, he would pay for every single word that might have hurt her. I would see to that._ His mind was blank and as I could not just read Bella's mind, the suspension became almost to much to bear. He looked good, though, too good even, as if he had grown stronger overnight. His blood had regained the same potent scent as it had had before the strange sickness yesterday.  
As I focused on his scent through the open window, it wasn't that hard to find. I had unconsciously moved closer toward the window and suddenly Bella caught a whiff of my scent. With her body rigid, she suddenly turned her glare towards me and I jumped back from the anger and sadness that seemed to rage inside her eyes.

'I am not feeling well.' She wispered to Jane and let her head drop on her arm. Jane patted her head in concern and called out to the teacher.  
'Ms. Cullen, are you alright?' As he asked the question he placed his hand on her arm. I stopped breathing altogether, her skin, he touched her skin.  
He quickly pulled back his hand. 'My, my, so cold. You should really get to the nurse's office. I'll give you a slip. Jane will you accompany her, please?'  
I searched through his mind trying to figure out what he would make of her cold skin, but apparently he blamed it on her illness and didn't think too much of it. I started breathing again.

* * *

As expected, they sent Bella home and I watched her walking slowly to her car. I came from my hiding place and raced to her side.  
'What are you doing here?' She nearly snarled at me. I just ignored her temper and pecked her on the cheek.  
'Where are we going, today?' I asked her in a fake cheery voice.  
'I am going home and you are going to school, young man.' Her tone made me laugh. It somehow didn't sound menacing at all, just hilarious.  
'I am older than you are.' I whispered in her ear.  
'Only in vampire years, technically I am almost two years older than you.' She grimaced at the reminder, how she could still find it disturbing I didn't know, but I just ignored her as I jumped into the car.  
We got back in no time, ofcourse and I almost wished we hadn't had come home.

'Yes, I do mean it, Jake! It's now or I will find another way!' Nessie was yelling from inside the house. _What did she just say? No way, I wasn't going to let this one go._ I thought she had used it in order to win the dispute, but as I heard both her voices now, I realized she meant every word of it.  
I ran inside and came to a sudden stop in front of Nessie. Bella who didn't realize what was going on, just looked at our faces warily.  
'If you think I will allow you to make such a stupid mistake, think again, young lady!' I had to restrain myself from growling at the end, but she sensed my sincere anger and backed away from me.  
Bella just looked at us curiously and started unpacking her bag.

'I am a grown woman, I can do whatever I want!' She threw back at me.  
'Maybe on the outside, but your little statement shows how much of a child you still are!' I paused for a second as she flinched at the word 'child' and then continued 'I will not allow you to have random sex with strangers as long as you live under my roof! Even if you are no longer living under mine, I will not allow it, you hear me!' I added the final line, because I had noticed she would use the moving out trick that Bella had used on Charlie that many years ago. Bella, who had finally realized what this was all about, dropped her books and in an instant she was besides Nessie, grabbing her arm and pulling her upstairs. 'What are you thinking?' I heard her cry out to Nessie from the top of the stairs. Once again, I was left behind to deal with Jacob.  
This seemed to become a fulltime job, taking care of Jacob's feelings.

I winced and nearly ran out of the door, anything to keep away from this emotional mess that I didn't want to get caught in and somehow always seemed to get pushed into. Jacob hadn't noticed my intent and spoke with heartbreak obvious in his voice. 'Maybe, we aren't meant to be, after all.'  
'Don't say that, Jacob. She loves you, she is just being stubborn. She doesn't want you to know how much it hurts when you reject her like that.'  
I had seen the love and pain much too clear, just now when I had yelled out those nasty things to her. Still, it didn't make me much more comfortable talking about it. But I had to, Jacob really doubted her affection for him as she seemed to be so eager to hit the sack with just about anybody.  
His thoughts made me flinch again, for I couldn't and certainly didn't want to picture her doing such things with just about anybody.  
'Truly, she loves you. Maybe you should get over your fears and propose to her. After you are truly joined, any outcome will be welcome and I am sure nothing will ever hurt Nessie. She is strong, as I pointed out before.' I spoke the words in a much more controlled and certain voice, as I actually felt, but no need to make him feel even more insecure than he already did.  
I left him to his thoughts then and climbed the stairs in order to back up my wife, for the heat of their argument hadn't subdued yet and I heard my Bella losing the fight with every word. For Nessie was well aware of how Bella had begged me and felt certain Bella would agree with her after a while.

I swung open the door and Nessie looked startled, as she hadn't expected my interference again. I had been able to make my face as smooth as possible on the way up. I just looked at her for a while, listening to her mind and the battle that was raging inside.  
**_Why is he here? Damn it! He's not going to be so easy to convince as mom is.  
But then again, he must understand my feelings. He hears everyone's mind. So he knows how it can become such a necessity to ... Wait, is he listening to me now? Crap, he is! Better speak now or ... -_** Suddenly I saw a brick wall as she blocked me out. I growled at her for a second, before composing my face again.

'Nessie, your behaviour is untolerable. Why would you hurt Jacob in such a manner?' I asked her, as I tried to break down her mental block.  
'Jacob? Jacob? Is that all you think about? I am your daughter!' She yelled at me. My face didn't expose any emotion, but I knew my voice would, for I felt the calm I had put inside disappearing with each word.  
'Yes, you are my daughter and I care for you more than you'll ever know. That's why you shouldn't take having sex so lightly. So, it might feel magical, it will only feel magical if it's shared with the person you love and there is absolutely no magic to be found in lust.' My words seem to throw her off balance for a moment, but as she was my daughter she could compose herself nearly as good as I could. She straightened her back and looked straight into my eyes, as she spoke the next words, her mind still blank.  
'I would love for it to be Jacob, but as he doesn't have the intention to have such a physical relationship with me, I will be forced to seek it elsewhere, father.' That simple word shot a hole right through my chest. Father, no love or compassion could be found in such a distant word. For it was distant, it was the same way you said Sir to a man you had never met before.

She noticed my weakness, for my face had fallen and I would have cried if our bodies were able to produce those useless fluids.  
Before she could continue her attack on me, Bella rescued me as she spoke, with a more forceful tone I had ever heard her use.  
'Renesmee, your dad is right! Sex is not something to enter in lightly. And there is a significant difference between making love and having sex out of lust. You are being very silly, if you think Jacob will never touch you in such a way. He might, if you go on with this stupid plan of yours. Jacob is hurting very deeply and if you would run off with someone else to do ... well, you know what I mean, then I am sure he won't be able to ever look upon your face again. Just give Jacob time, he's only worried about hurting you. I am sure he will find a way soon enough, for I have seen how he longs to touch you in his eyes.' As she finished, she gasped for air. She had spoken the words without even stopping to breath, although we didn't have the need for it, it was still very uncomfortable.

Nessie was speechless, the wall she had created had broken into a million little pieces and I had a clear look into her mind, now.  
I was relieved to see, she understood what Bella had told her. She didn't long to lose Jacob and although she was hurt by his rejection, she wouldn't be able to stand being seperated from him for an indefinite amount of time.  
She let herself fall onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. Her tears sent a wave of pain and grief through me as if it was my own.  
Bella gestured me to leave the room and so I did. Without a doubt, my wife could console her in a much better way than I ever could.

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I smiled at Jacob who was sitting in the loveseat, his eyes full of doubt, pain and grief. He relaxed instantly and even managed to smile back at me.  
'I'm going out to hunt. Care to join me?' I asked him politely. He just shook his head and turned on the TV.  
As I ran it hit me again, all the anger and despair I had felt and then the strenght and pride as my wife had been able to make an end to this conflict.  
She was such a wonderful, beautiful woman, yet now a very different pain hit me. After all this time, my guilt hadn't vanished. I still resented myself for turning her at times, although she seemed to be created for this life. Sometimes, I missed her flushed cheeks, her chocolate brown eyes and more so, her heartbeat. How it had tormented me never being able to hear that sound again, but she had no regrets and had been happy that she had finally been able to live out her dream. Her dream of being with me forever.

I was truly grateful for her and our little girl, but still I often wondered if I hadn't deprived her of many things that normal humans held so dear.  
She had always tried to convince me this wasn't the case and she had never been so happy as she was right here with me. This life had held many surprises for her, but she had never shown any dislike to our kind of life.  
But lately she had found out the horrors that were linked to our life. The kind of things she never had to worry about if I had just been more responsable.

It had been a close call and I wouldn't have been able to live without her. _But was it the right thing to do?_ I had seen her body rigid and burning with thirst each time we crossed paths with Tim. I had seen the fear of being a monster in her eyes and I knew it was all my fault.

My thoughts scattered as soon as SHE called out for me, grabbing me hand and pulling me along with her through the trees and over the rivers.  
My love, although the word was not even powerful enough, beamed at me as she caught the scent of some mountain lions. She danced around me and kissed me passionately, before crouching and leaping toward the animal in a more graceful manner I had ever seen. I just stared at her, feeling utterly content to be blessed with this woman, this love, this angel.

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	14. Chapter 14 : Missing

**I don't own Twilight**

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'Love,' I felt guilty for cutting through our thick atmosphere of true bliss as I touched the subject, but the suspense had been killing me all day. I needed to know, surely she would understand that.

'Did you have a fight with Peter, today?' She hid her face deeper in my chest, kissing it softly in her reluctance to answer my question. She slowly moved down and her kisses grew more violent each time her lips touched my skin. I thought I would cease to exist, fighting against myself to keep my breathing even. She noticed as well and understood I would not be moved on the subject. She slowly lifted her face up to touch my lips and then she sighed. Not the sigh I had expected, it rang with more sadness than desire and my guilt came crushing down on me again.  
'I don't know what's wrong with him.' She said as her voice broke. 'He hasn't talked to any of us. He acted very strange and ignored me, Jane, Nick, just everyone of us today. Maybe he doesn't likes us as much as I thought.'  
She shrugged, but the movement was forced and not natural at all.

I pulled her in a tight hug and kissed beneath her eyes, as if tears had run over there. She smiled as she seemed to imagine the same thing, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

'I am very sorry, love. But maybe it's for the best.' She looked at me incredulous and I hurried to explain. 'You were very close to him and he knew a lot about our family. Maybe it was too dangerous to keep him as a friend with the threat of exposure still hanging in the air after the Tim incident.' She flinched as I mentioned Tim's name and I kissed her quickly. She understood the meaning of my words and although she nodded in agreement, I could see that familiar pout spreading across her face. I didn't bring up the subject again after that, terrified of hurting the object of my affection.

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Months went by and there had come a certain routine to our lives.  
During school I seemed to be oblivious to just about everything, always keeping my eyes on the walls, imagining the face of my Bella, her voice, what she would be doing. The drive home was always the most anxious time of the day. No matter the speed, it just didn't ever seem to go fast enough and always the worry that Bella might not yet be home and the discomfort that came with it. The days she did beat me home, which was almost every day since she didn't linger with her friends after school anymore, the suprise and happiness simply made me glow. Our evenings were a quiet and agreable sensation as we sat together with our familly and just enjoyed the company. And ofcourse the nights, which always seemed to pass too quickly and could never completely still our hunger for each other.  
The sun always there, as the traitor that he was, to show us that life could not only revolve around us.

Then one day I got home first after school and I counted each millisecond to see my wife's beautiful face warm up after my enthusiasm. Time just kept on passing and I had already lost count, what seemed to be ages ago. _What was keeping her?_ I wasn't the only one worrying now, the entire family was on edge. Alice kept looking in the future in despair as her headache grew and she seemed to be doing an even poorer job in return.  
Jasper kept filling the room with waves of calmness, although his mind was all but calm itself. His thoughts nearly shouted out to me.

_**This is not like Bella! What happened to her? Did she go after that Tim guy after all? Sure, expose us, why don't you!!-**_ I flinched away from Jasper's mind, only to hear almost identical thoughts coming from the others. The only person that was convinced she hadn't hurt Tim, was Alice. She had moved toward Jacob now, to ease the headache. She looked at me apologetically and I could see the pain it was giving her. If anything would happen to Bella and she hadn't seen it, I wouldn't know what Alice would do.

Bella and Alice had become so close, it almost seemed they were two parts of the same heart. Alice would gladly give up any of us, besides Jasper, to be able to save her if the situation would call for it.  
I had never dreamed when she had first defied me with the promise of their future friendship that day in the living room, where we had debated Bella's life, that their friendship would truly grow to be such a deep sense of union.

I was thankfull though, that they had grown to be such great friends and that Alice was part of our family. As soon as Nessie had become full grown and made it obvious she didn't need to be pampered anymore, Rosalie's mind had changed and she had become envious of Bella in such a way, I had often had to keep myself from attacking her. Bella was not aware of Rosalie's envy and Rosalie managed to act normal around her. But often enough I could catch her thinking about her lost spotlight whenever Bella was around. She had thought Bella plain when she was human, but her immortality truly made her even more exquisite than she had already been and she was the head turner of the family now. The presence of Nessie and her love for Nessie had kept her mind silent for long, but the last two years her envy grew and made me more resentful toward her. Yet, for the moment, she was truly worried as well, so I ceased to think of my shallow sister.

I couldn't take it anymore and ran out to go find her, without having to ask, Emmett and Jacob were beside me in less than a second.  
_**Jasper is going to keep everyone calm in there, although he didn't like missing the fun-**_ Emmett chuckled. I looked at him warily, this was hardly my idea of fun. We ran toward the school first, it would be easier to track her from there, because we all knew that she had been there.

Her car wasn't in the parking lot and her scent got lost the minute she had gotten into the car after school. We had been looking around the school for a while, when we finally got a call from Alice. She had finally seen Bella, she seemed to be hunting, but there was something very wrong, although she hadn't been able to put her finger on it. She was somewhere in a forest, near a little creek. Ofcourse, forests were very common around here and so we had decided to split up, to find her. Alice had told us Jasper was going to look for her in the northern direction, so Emmett went off to look west, Jacob east and I took to the south.

We all had our cells ready in case the situation called for it, but darkness had already fallen and a big full moon shone bright above us. Any other full moon was a magical experience, but now the shivers ran down my spine.

I had covered almost 100 miles, when my phone suddenly rang. It was Jacob. 'Edward?' He asked, as if anyone else would answer my phone.  
'Yes Jacob?' My voice was filled with panic and my words came out in a hoarse and forced manner. He seemed to sigh, before he caught the breath he needed, to tell me what he had found.  
'I found Bella's car. It's a wreck, she seems to have hit something. I'm near Lake Whatcom, get over here as soon as possible. There is something very strange, I want you to smell. Silver Beach Road, please hurry, I'll warn the others.' He hung up before I could answer.  
W_hat had she been doing there? That was the opposite direction of our home. Another mystery_. I sighed as I focused on my feet and let them carry me as fast as they could. Ofcourse, a car accident wouldn't be a problem for us, we would survive even a head on collision with a monster truck.

Still, it was all to strange to even try to make sense of it.  
_1. Why didn't she come home first?  
2. What was she doing near Lake Whatcom?  
3. If she had been in an accident, why hadn't she called us?  
4. Alice had said she was hunting. Not normal behaviour after wrecking your car.  
5. Alice, with her imperfect vision, seemed convinced she was in danger._

_What was going on?_ I wanted to cry out toward the moon and the stars, to cry out all my agony, panic and despair. That's when I saw Jacob sniffing the car. Emmett was standing there with a frown on his face, very out of character for him. Jasper wasn't there yet.

The hood of the car had been twisted into a strange metal frame. This time I saw Emmett sniffing the car.  
'Animal like, but more potent. Not human either, very strange.' I heard Jacob muttering to my brother.  
'Nice scent though, it makes me anxious to hunt down this thing. Seems tasty.' Emmett chuckled.  
**_For me too, that's what worries me - _**I heard Jacob thinking, but he seemed to ashamed to speak out the words. _What could be tasty enough to both of them? It had to be an animal. Maybe some predator of humans, that made the smell less animal like._  
_**S****trange how thirsty I've become, like I NEED to track down this creature ever since I smelled his scent. -**_ Emmett's thought reflected Jacob's perfect and to my conclusion even mine after taking a whiff of the car's dented hood.

Thirst had blackened my eyes, I could see it through the eyes of others, but it was almost impossible. _Hadn't I just been out hunting with Bella yesterday?_  
Jacob told us that Jasper wasn't coming, he had received a call from Alice and wanted to go home to calm down Esme and Nessie, who had become very worried. So we decided to follow the trail that Bella had left, the exact same trail as the creature with the alluring scent.  
_Maybe she hit it with her car and after smelling it, decided to go hunt it down, overcome with thirst, just as I and Emmett were overcome by it and in Jacob's case overcome by hunger._

We had been running for about an half hour, when suddenly my phone rang.  
We all came to a stop. It was Alice, ofcourse. As I hit the green button, I could still hear Alice gasping. 'Alice? What's wrong?' I nearly spoke the words but she caught them. She reflected for a second, which made the panic inside me stronger. What was going on here?  
'Bella! She's hunting a Child of the Moon and you will run right into him if you don't get to her now. She's too close. She doesn't know...' I didn't need to hear more, as I shut the phone I ran faster than I did before and Emmett and Jacob seemed to put more distance between us with each second.

_One of the Children of the Moon, how had I missed this. They were the true enemy of our kind and their scent was made as if to lure us in their trap._  
Bella had never known about their attraction to us, all she knew was that they were not the same as Jacob's pack.  
I could picture it now. This giant werewolf, eyes as red as blood lurching towards Bella's throat and she would be ignorant. She would think he couldn't harm her and so she would let him jump her, blinded by her thirst.  
I growled as I picked up the pace even more, my body out of control, as was my mind. We would never be able to beat the creature if it came to a one on one fight. We needed to surround it, attack it from different sides. Only then did we stand a chance, against such a horrible creature.  
No doubt Alice had seen the distance between me and the others. She would have called Emmett by now and asked him to come home with Jacob.  
She would have to explain for sure, but as soon as Emmett would hear from it, he would do as she told him to. Even three of us were not enough and Jacob didn't count. If he would get bitten, he would turn into one of them, even being a shapeshifter, his human side would be too weak to withhold the infection from changing him. I couldn't let this happen, I needed to find Bella before it was too late.

Suddenly the trail got split up, even worse, there were two of them. Bella had spend some time trying to figure out which line to follow, so maybe that would gain me some time. I hurried down the trail were her scent mixed with that of the creature she tailed. I was running when I noticed I was being followed. The second one had obviously gone back on his track to follow Bella and now he followed me. Could this get any worse, wasn't enough I had to save my wife from one werewolf, let alone getting cornered in by two of them. Strange, as for as I knew, Children of the Moon didn't really work well together. They depended on their instincts and any form of team work or friendship was lost on them. Yet, here I was, about to be proven wrong again. I ran as fast as I could, but I didn't seem able to loose him. I thought about jumping of the trail, so he wouldn't be led to Bella, but then I would lose her trail as well and she was heading for the end of her existence.

I couldn't, I needed to find her first and figure out how to outrun the creatures then. I thanked God that my brother and Jacob hadn't come along, for they didn't nearly run as fast as me, so we would have been caught up by the creature dozens of miles ago. Just at that time, I heard the mind of my wife, she must have expected me to follow her and had lifted her shield.  
_**I love you, Edward, forever. -**_ The one line was followed by an image of the creature standing over her, blood red eyes, fur as black as night. Yet somehow, he didn't seem so violent as I had imagined. He had tore of a piece of my wife's arm, for I saw it moving on the earth next to her, but the creature seem to hesitate for some reason.  
I cried out 'No!' and then I ran straight into the creature, jumping back immediately and crouching over my wife.

The creature growled ferociously and then he howled up to the moon. In the same second, I gave my wife her arm and ordered her to get up and back away. I didn't loose my ground, I was determined, I was decided.  
If I could just fight him off long enough for my wife to get away, then I would gladly give up my life. The only thing that was flawed in my plan was the second one. I could hear him approaching at an unbelievable speed. If he didn't join the fight and follow after Bella, she would be lost as well.

The creature looked hesitantly at my wife and then bared his teeth. I started running circles around it, trying to confuse it. The second creature came into sight then and immediatly ran toward Bella. This was exactly as I had feared. Bella, who hadn't ran away yet, desperate to stay at my side, now started running as fast as she could. I was still circling the other one.  
Not being able to read this creature's mind made me uncomfortable. It was all animal inside, the only sound I got from him were growls and howls.  
My mind reading had always been the biggest advantage in combat and now I needed to fight against a creature that was bigger, stronger and mentally silent. I knew I could never win this. Suddenly his big claw shot out and ...  
I found myself knocked down against the ground.

I knew what would happen now, I would try to jump up in the same instance he headed for my throat. I waited to see the attack in his eyes. He seemed to be doing the same. This was absolutely a strange creature, not as wild and blinded by instinct as I had thought. We stared each other down for a while.

His eyes narrowed and I knew it would be any second now. As his back arched in his jump, I let myself roll down the grass quickly. But I hadn't expected him to see through the movement. His teeth broke through the skin of my back and I screamed in agony. I jumped up with the creature still clinging to my back. The second he ripped the skin, I ran, I ran as fast as I could. I heard him chewing tastefully on the piece of my back as he came after me. Ofcourse, we tasted and smelled wonderful to the creatures as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't be drawn to us in such a manner.

My stomach turned, but I didn't slow down at all. I didn't know what had happened to Bella, but I couldn't follow her trail. If she had lost by now, I would only run into the one creature, with the second just seconds behind me. I heard the water of Lake Whatcom in the distance. This could be my escape, if I could outrun the werewolf on my tale for long enough.  
We were extremely fast in the water and they were like dogs in the water, although they could swim, they were much too slow for us in the water.  
I needed to get there as soon as possible.

'Bella? Bella?' I cried out a couple of times. If she was still alive, I would find a way to save her this time for sure. I looked up to the sky, just a couple of minutes till sunrise. 'Bella? Bella!!' I cried out again.  
Nothing but silence. I felt the burn of tears, although they didn't come, couldn't come. I debated with myself, to just stop running and let the creature have his way with me. But then again, maybe she was still alive, but was to busy to hear me. Just a one more minute to sunrise now. I could start looking for her and if I had lost her, if she wasn't anymore, then I made an promise to the moon. The next full moon, I would come out again, untill I found their scent. I would find my way to them, or by that time, they would find their way to me and I would do nothing to prevent the outcome.  
I would gladly invite death, for my life was worth nothing without my love, my Bella.

The one that was following me, must have felt the approaching sun rise, because he had given up on me and so I ran back to the place of the attack, to follow Bella from there. As soon as I caught the scent, I ran as fast as I could again, never able to tune out the depressing thoughts of how I would find her, in what condition she would be, or worse if she would be dead. A picture of her half eaten by the monster set himself in my mind and as hard as I tried, I couldn't make it go away.

I came to a sudden stop, shock written on my face. _Were my eyes playing tricks on me?_ The scent was sweet and very human. As it should be, for now it was no longer a creature of the night. I blinked my eyes a couple of times, wondering if I were dreaming. This could not be. All the menace and violence had washed away from this face and traded it for an angelic like peace.  
As I stood there, wondering if it could be the same creature, she opened her eyes. Deep blue eyes looked up to me in disgust and something else, almost wonder. The dark haired girl could not be older than 14. _How could faith have destroyed such a young, innocent girls life?_

As soon as my misguided sorrow for the girl had disappeared, I felt the rage and pain boiling inside of me. I grabbed her arm, that she had twisted around her naked body as I hissed at her.  
'What have you done with my wife?' My nostrils flared and my eyes were pitch black, but I could see the flames of my rage burning in them, through the girl's eyes. She put her head down, but at least in this human form, I could read her mind.  
_**Disgusting vampire, had to give up the chase because of the damn sun.-**_ I sighed deep with the realization that my Bella was still alive somewhere.  
I grabbed the girl by her arm again and towed her along with me, while I followed my wife's scent again. I wasn't going to let this Child of the Moon follow us once again. Better be safe than sorry.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I answered it after the first ring.  
'Hi, Alice.' I said, still towing the girl with me, who had tried to make a run for it.  
She thought I would be too distracted by my phone, but that didn't work out as she had planned.  
'Edward! What are you doing?' Alice was fuming and nearly choked on her words. I thought about it for a second. _What was she talking about? What had she seen? Had she seen this girl or was it something else._  
'Are you talking about the girl, Alice?' I asked with a voice that was steady and calm.  
'Yes, the girl. How you can refer to a Child of the Moon as the girl is beyond me! What are you doing, bringing such a creature in our house?' She yelled, her voice beyond fury. I didn't realize I was towing her along to our home.

I just needed her somewhere restricted, where she couldn't hurt us, when she turned again. For me, for Bella, for my family.  
'Forget that! Have you seen Bella? Is she alive?' My voice had picked up some octaves as I had mentioned Bella's name and Alice noticed my distress.  
'She's okay, she's swimming circles in Lake Whatcom, to afraid to get out of the water. She'll be relieved to see you... But you are not bringing that creature to our house!' Alice's words didn't make sense anymore, as soon as I had heard that my wife was still alive and kicking, I needed to see her. The rest didn't matter to me anymore.  
'Sure.' I answered, without actually knowing what I was responding to.  
'You are such a liar, Edward Cullen! I can still see you coming home with her.'  
Alice yelled back to me, infuriated by my lack of response, she finally shut her phone and ended the conversation.

I raced forward to find Bella, but this girl just moved at human speed. I growled and threw her on my back, not in a loving way as I had done with Bella. But in a brutal, angry way, while I gripped her arms like iron chains, bruising her for sure. I didn't care, I wasn't going to let her get away from me. This time I could really race to the lake, without the girl slowing me down.  
Just as Alice had said, she was swimming, scared out of her wits, constantly gazing toward the trees.

As I came into her line of sight, an immense relief appeared on her face, followed by an questioning look as she saw the girl on my back.  
She slowly came out of the water towards me, still eyeing the girl suspiciously. Only on few occasions did I catch her eyeing me in the same way. _This couldn't be happening!_ She was jealous, I recognized the look all too well. _Did she really doubt me that much? And if it was so, would I be such a fool to bring my date to meet her? She must realize how wrong she was._ But she didn't, she just continued to look at us in an uncomfortable way. _Ugh, she moved so slow. Why was she moving so slow?_ I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran up to her and with the girl still on my back and her arms locked in my iron fists, I kissed my love with all the despair, pain and love I had felt the previous night, pouring out in this short, single kiss.

Bella didn't need much to respond to my kisses or my touch, but this time, all though she sensed the emotion in this kiss, as I saw in her eyes, she didn't react. She just glanced upward to the face of this young girl. I quickly pulled her off of my back and just kept her in restraint by one hand, as I had done before.

'Who is she?' She finally managed to ask, although it was only a whisper. I looked at my wife's arm, that had reassembled perfectly with her body and raised an eyebrow. 'This is one of the creatures we met tonight, this is a Child of the Moon.' I told Bella and watched her as realization hit her. 'What is she doing here?' She hissed, while she bared her teeth to the girl. The girl shuddered and turned away her eyes.

'Making sure we are safe, next time.' I said calmly. Bella looked at me as if I were crazy and then just shrugged her shoulders.  
'I guess I'll have to buy myself a car this time.' She said indifferently. But I could tell the implications she had put in it.  
'Ofcourse not!' I nearly snapped at her. 'I'll get you one. You are my wife and after tonight, you deserve some pampering.' I smiled crookedly at her and all the arguments she had intended to throw at me, vanished as a smile rised from the corners of her mouth. This was her favorite smile and I had learned to use it well.

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	15. Chapter 15 : Children of the Moon

**I don't own Twilight**

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Edward! What were you thinking, bringing this child into our home?' Carlisle nearly choked on the words, while he looked at the girl with panic written on his face.  
_**She knows where to find us now. We'll never be safe again! **_- His thoughts only continued to scream in panic.  
'She would trace our scent down here anyway. The safest thing is to have her locked up down here.' I spoke calmly, but inside the doubt and panic were also digging his way out.

'Maybe, we'll learn from her or figure out where the other one is. We have to try, Carlisle. I can't stand it, the thought of Bella being in danger. You must understand Carlisle, if I were to lose Bella ...' I couldn't bring myself to say the last words, but Carlisle did understand. He nodded and looked around the room at our family with grief in his eyes. Carlisle was the most compassionate of us all.

'We must destroy her now.' Jasper interceded. I looked at him warily.  
'She knows too much and she is a danger to us, Edward. Now is the best time, in her human form, she is no match for us.' He spoke forcefully as he walked up to the girl, that sat tied up against the stairs. She cringed away from him, her eyes wide with fear.  
Suddenly Bella jumped up from the loveseat, putting herself in front of the girl, her hand in the air, as if she was going to smack the girl.

'Love, what are you doing?' I asked her quickly and silently.  
'Don't you see, Edward? This is the monster, the one and only! She bit Peter, that night! I'm sure of it. Jasper kill her now, she deserves it!' I had never heard my wife being so vindictive. But as she had spoke the words, it seemed to make sense to me. The bite, then his illness the night before his first full moon, the hesitation I had seen while he was charging Bella. _Ofcourse, how could I have missed this? Leave it to Bella, to uncover all the mysteries._ 'Wait, how can you be sure? Bella? Love?' I asked quickly as I saw that Jasper was intending to abide her command.  
Finally, she stepped away from the girl as she walked towards me. Jasper seemed to hesitate, but Alice quickly tugged his shirt, so he followed her as well and left the girl in peace, for the time being.

We sat at the big dining room table as she explained what she believed had happened. I just looked at her in awe.  
'That night that Peter was bitten, it was a full moon. Then the day before the next full moon, he gets very ill. I followed him and he was twitching and burning up with fever, probably his body preparing for the change.  
The next day, his scent has changed. It had become more potent and more alluring and besides his blood, he suddenly acted as if I were a pariah. He had been my best friend, and without a reason he didn't want to sit beside me, he didn't want to talk to me anymore. I found it all very strange. Then yesterday, I noticed him looking at me in a strange way. Had he seen me before while a full moon, I don't know, but he acted as if I smelled really nice and somehow it was a bad thing. I caught him sniffing behind me a couple of times as I passed him and then quickly turning away and putting his mouth over his face, as you had done Edward, that first day in Biology.

"So I thought it so peculiar, I decided to follow him. When school had ended, I drove behind him, keeping a distance ofcourse, but never letting his car out of my sight. Then it became dark and he must have taken a small sideway or something, because all of the sudden I couldn't see his car anymore. I turned around, decided to find him, when out of the blue, this animal runs in front of my car. It happened too fast, even for me to avoid hitting it. So I got out of the car, to look if I had hit it badly and the animal was gone. I thought about calling you, Edward, about the car, but I thought you would be upset, so I decided to leave the car and run home. As soon as I ran into the woods, I caught the animal's scent, or so I thought it was, and I got so thirsty, I decided to hunt it down.

"When I found the animal I jumped it's back, but it shook me down in an instant. It caught my arm with it's teeth and I was frozen in shock. It had ripped my arm off without a problem. This couldn't be, I thought. The animal licked at the arm and then looked at me and threw my arm back. He just stood there, watching me and then you showed up Edward. Now, after what Alice has just told me about the Children of the Moon, they don't wait or hesitate and they sure as hell don't throw away such tasty snacks as a vampire arm. I guess it was Peter and somewhere inside, he still knew me and he couldn't bring himself to hurt me anymore.' Bella was not known for giving such speeches, but what she said could very well be possible.

All the family were thinking it over and as I could hear what they were thinking, they all seemed convinced that Bella had hit the nail on the head.  
'Then you should go talk to Peter, get the facts straight.' Carlisle said to Bella after a while. She nodded and was out of the door in an instant.  
'Are you crazy?' I yelled at Carlisle, but he just looked at me, his face peaceful. 'If it was Peter, we need to know, so we can protect ourselves.' He answered me with a tone that mirrored his face.  
'If it was Peter, she'll be running in the lion's den!' I cried out.  
'No, son, he is human now, he is no match for Bella. And obviously, he is having difficulties hurting her or he wouldn't have hesitated.' Carlisle answered in the same tone, that tone that infuriated me more than anything.  
_Did he not understand the risk? But ofcourse he was right._

But on one thing I wasn't sure. If it was Peter, had he been bitten by this girl or had someone else attacked him? I decided to use my time without Bella well. I would go mad as long as I wasn't sure she was safe and this would preoccupy my mind a little. I walked to the girl and sat beside her. She slowly started shifting her weight to the other side to put some distance between us. I raised my eyebrown in response and she seemed to relax a little

.  
'What's your name?' I asked her. She was debating in her head whether or not to answer the questions, completely unaware of my ability. So I spoke again. 'So Stacey, who was your friend in the forest tonight?'  
'I don't know. I usually work alone, but somehow he crossed my path tonight.' she spoke hesitantly, but as I had said her name without me being able to know it, she seemed more comfortable talking than if somehow I picked the answers out of her head.  
'Have you ever seen him before?' I asked her and she just shook her head.  
_Hm, it was possible ofcourse she didn't know him in his wolf form, because he had never crossed path with her after the night he got bitten. _

So I quickly got to my next question. 'Have you ever attacked humans?' Her head snapped up and she pressed her lips tight. She didn't want to answer this one and once again I praised myself lucky with the power to hear her mind.  
_**Ofcourse, I eat them as well. What a stupid question! -**_ _So, maybe I should rephrase my question. Because if she ate them, then there would be nothing left to change. I needed to know if she ever just bit someone._  
'Has anyone ever survived an attack by you? Have you ever just bit someone?' These were two questions, I knew, but maybe she would finally understand what I was getting at. Again, she pressed her lips together and I started scrambling in her mind.

**_Okay, so maybe I bit someone once and awhile. No big deal, right. If people don't let you eat in peace, what else do you have to do? -_** I gasped. _Once and a while! How many had she turned then?_  
'How many, Stacey?' I asked her.  
'Why do I have to answer, you're just picking my brain anyway?' She scowled. I growled in response and as her face went blank with fear, she seemed suddenly eager to answer my question.  
'Not that many. Three or four, I think. My memories aren't always cristal clear, you know. Besides I don't really want to know, what I do on those nights. It creeps me out.' I suddenly felt sorry for this girl, that had been forced into such a horrible way of living. Afraid of what horrors she may have inflincted when she opened her eyes the next morning.

'I understand. But you should know, that when you merely bite someone, you are cursing them to the same kind of life as you have. I know you weren't aware of this, but it's true. That's why I need to know this? Have you bitten this boy a couple of months ago?' I held up a picture from school, where Peter stood besides Bella. She gazed at it for a second and all of the sudden I saw the faces she was reminding, the kills and the merely bitten scrambled up and then ... Peter's face. I groaned. Ofcourse, Bella had been right, Bella was always right. I yelled out a 'thank you' as I ran out the door to find Bella. I wasn't going to let her alone with a werewolf, even if he was human now.

Jacob stopped me a couple of miles from the house.  
_**Wouldn't it be better if I went to Peter's? I'm not a vampire and in the condition you are in right now, man, clearly not as menacing. **_- He enforced his statement with a mental picture of myself as the burning man, as he put it. A face he hadn't seen since Bella was dying when she was pregnant.  
I wanted to push him out of the way, but he just shoved against my chest a couple of times.  
'Okay then, Jake. But if you two are not back in an hour, I'm coming after you.' He noticed the reluctancy in my voice and nodded once, before running after Bella's trail. He didn't want to give me time to reconsider. I slowly got back inside of the house.

I stalked past everyone in the living room without speaking a word, directly to the kitchen where I knew Emmett would be.  
'Emmett? I want to ask you for a favor.' He eyed me suspiciously and then grinned. 'Sure, bro. What do you need?' He was always the one I could rely on to go along in my crazy games, although this was not crazy at all.  
'I need you to built a cage. There is still enough titanium in the garage.' I spoke calm, but it sounded more a command than a request.  
'A cage? Why?' He asked them the same time, they entered his head. One thing about Emmett, he was always honest and crystal clear to read.  
'I want to put the girl in there at full moon, so she can't break free. You'll have to make a stronge cage, one that will hold her. Can you handle it?' It wasn't nearly his idea of fun, but he would do it. He quickly tugged Rosalie along as they both headed to the garage to start their new project.

I sat down beside the girl again, she was looking really tired and being tied up for so long, must really be uncomfortable. I decided to take release her hands, besides where would she run to with all these vampires that could catch her in less than a minute. She looked at me with big eyes as I started to untying the knots. 'Sh, don't worry. I trust you not to run away, okay. And as long as you don't make this difficult, we will not harm you.' I spoke in my soothing voice and it seemed to work. She relaxed instantly and even managed to smile. She flexed her fingers, wrists and then her legs as she got up. She walked around the living room for a while, desperately trying to let the blood run through her body again and work off the stiffness of her uncomfortable pose before. As she finally set herself down in the loveseat, Alice nearly jumped through the roof. She didn't like this girl being so close to her. Alice had a huge aversion of Children of the Moon, but then again, which normal vampire didn't? The girl didn't seem to care and put her head down as she absentmindedly gazed at the television. It didn't even take 10 minutes or the girl was snoring.

_**Great! A snoring werewolf in the middle of our living room! Is it not enough to hear Jake's chainsaw recital every night? Just bring in another kind of wolf to complete the symphony, why don't you? -**_ Emmett's sudden loud mental voice managed to startle me. The sarcasm even made me chuckle for a second. He just shrugged and went to get something from the kitchen before disappearing into the garage again.

_**Dad! Dad? Damn it! -**_ I ran up to Nessie's room, wondering what could be so urgent. Ofcourse she was aware of everything that was going on, so it must be serious. I swung open the door with unnecessary force.  
'What's wrong, sweetheart?' I heard that the panic lay thick on my tongue.  
I was so heading for a nervous breakdown. It seemed like faith or the universe or whatever it was, didn't seem to grant us peace. Constantly putting different problems on our paths, as if Lady Fortune was jealous of the angel I had welcomed into my life and had become determined to make me suffer for it.

'Momma needs us.' She held up her cell, where I saw the message from Bella.  
It read RENESMEE GET OVER HERE NOW! JACOB HAS LOST IT AND YOU NEED TO CALM HIM DOWN. LEAVE YOUR FATHER OUT OF THIS, PLEASE HONEY.  
'I didn't think it a good idea to leave you out of this, daddy, but we have to go now.' She said with the urgency clear in her tone. Ofcourse, we all knew what this meant. Jacob had lost it, gotten too angry about something and had probably turned into a wolf in front of the boy and god knows how many others. Maybe his parents, or if they were in a public place, maybe dozens of humans. I grabbed Nessie's hand and nearly pulled her into my car and then we were speeding down to Peter's house.

_Why had Bella wanted Nessie to come alone? Why hadn't she wanted me there? Had it been about me? Or had Peter done something to hurt Bella?_  
My mind was filled with a million different questions as we reached the house.  
Nessie jumped out and rang the door bell without thinking, I nearly growled at her for this move. A grey man with glasses opened the door and looked inane at the two of us.  
'Hello, sir, we've come to visit Peter. Is he home?' I asked as innocently as possible. He just nodded and pointed to the stairs. I took Nessie's hand in mine and walked at a human pace up the stairs, mumbling a thank you to Peter's father. I heard Bella's voice as she was pleading Jacob to calm down.  
I quickly opened the door, where the noise was coming from and then I saw them. Jacob in his wolf form was on top of Peter, teeth bared and growling softly to the boy that just shuddered as he kept his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of the giant wolf.

'What's going on here?' I nearly screamed at Jacob. He slowly let go of the boy and backed away from him, then he looked at me with his black eyes.  
Bella swiftly moved toward Jacob and patted his head as she demanded his attention. He turned his gaze on her and they stared into each others eyes for a long time. This hurt more than I had imagined. Even after all these years, I longed for that kind of connection with my wife. I knew I didn't need to worry for she loved me and Jacob loved Nessie. But still their understanding, their way of communication without the use of words, the kind I had longed for since I met Bella and discovered I couldn't read her mind, sent a jealous sting through my dead heart.  
_**I'm sorry... I didn't mean to...Ofcourse, Bella. -**_ I heard him thinking at different times in response to something Bella told him with her eyes and I was wondering again what he had read there. He broke of the gaze and let him slide down to the floor, where he returned to his human form.

Nessie quickly sat down besides Jacob as she put her arms around him and kissed him gently on his shoulder over and over again. She placed her hand to his cheek _**- What's been going on here, Jake? -**_ She told him with her touch. He looked at Bella, who nodded once and then he began to tell the story of everything that had happened tonight.

'Nessie, when I got here, I heard your momma whimpering and it hurt me to hear my beloved friend in such agony. I jumped up and came crashing through the window. She ran into my arms and as I was trying to comfort her, this beast started throwing terrible accusations at her. He told her she was a freak of nature, that she was the worst thing on this planet. Your momma plead with the beast to stay friends and to forgive her, HER for God's sake, as if she had done anything wrong. He kept saying terrible things about her and I felt the heat running down my spine, but I controlled myself, honey, because I didn't need to accidently rip this beast to pieces.

"Then he started terrible things about your daddy as well and how he would love to eat him and stuff. And then ...' Jacob turned to Bella, who didn't meet his eyes. She kept her eyes down to the floor, her face distorted in agony. ' Then he called you an abomination, a creature from hell and a thorn in the eye of God, or something. I lost it. I couldn't stand anyone talking about you in such a way and I changed as I jumped him. I nearly gotten a good bite out of him too if Bella hadn't gotten in the way. After I realized I had just hurt her, I ceased my attack. But I wasn't going to let him go, so you mom send you a text. The beast whimpered now and I was finding a strange pleasure in that. But still I wanted to rip him apart. Your momma knows me too well, so she kept pulling at me, to get me off of him, but it didn't work.

"The beast started pleading with her, about being his best friend and not wanting to lose her. It only made me angrier, he had called her all those awfull things only minutes before. So I started growling again, determined to make an end to him right there, when all of the sudden, you guys came bursting through the door. Your momma looked at me in disapproval, so I told her I was sorry. She said I had been stupid to change in front of Peter so I let her know it wasn't what I had intended. Then she told me to shift back and stay out of it and so I did. I'm really sorry, honey. I didn't mean to drag you into this.' He gasped for air after finishing his story.

'It's okay, Jake. I know you did it for me, because you love me. But how...' Nessie broke of mid sentence.  
'What honey?' He looked at her with an immense love radiating from his face, but also covered in guilt. He knew what his fault had been and felt stupid for exposing even more of us to the beast. He had put Nessie in even more danger and he would have kicked himself for it.  
'Well, I didn't hear momma talk to you after we came in. You said she told you things and you answered her. I didn't hear her talk and you sure as hell can't answer as a wolf. So what do you mean by that?' Nessie asked Jacob hesitantly. _Ah, I had been curious about this as well. It might help me to read her face better in the future_. I listened intently to his response.  
'Well, your mom and I have been friends very long and I know your momma better than anyone and she also knows me better than anyone. We talk with our eyes, honey.' He breathed as he relaxed, he had expected something far worse. He had expected her anger, her wrath, anything but this, which seemed so silly to Jacob to explain.

I didn't find it silly and I even noticed I was getting angry at the fact he had said they knew each other better then anyone. _Didn't my wife know me best and vice versa?_ I felt the jealousy stinging again, as I realized he was right. They had always connected on a much deeper level. A level of soulmates, kindred spirits in every meaning of the word. And I had been in the way of that. I had robbed my wife's of her future, her love and her life. If it hadn't been for me, she WOULD have been with Jacob, I was certain of it and they would have been happy together. Jacob would never had imprinted on Nessie, for she hadn't existed and he would love my wife more than anything in this world, as he had always done and I knew he still did in a way.

His feelings for my wife were not as strong as they had been and he loved my daughter much more than her, but still he would gladly give his life for my Bella. His romantic feelings hadn't died entirely as was expected when someone imprinted, but were diminished. I often caught him thinking of Nessie and Bella, comparing them. Thinking of the resemblance of their eyes, their character and their capacity to love. He thought his love had transfered onto Nessie, because she was a part of Bella he could have. He often wondered to himself why he could see two people, everywhere he went. The face of Nessie was always glowing, highlighted and Bella's face was darker, but still very visible. The rest of the world was unseen by him, for he saw nobody besides these two women.

He hadn't seen anyone besides Bella, before Nessie was born and this was somehow prove to his theory. It often infuriated me as I caught him thinking in this way, but I didn't mention it. Honestly, I was still somehow afraid that Bella would understand the meaning of his words and agree with him. I didn't want her to know she was destined to be with Jacob and that I had been the demon to ruin her life. I loved her to much and I was to selfish to ever stand losing her or giving her up for that matter. Ofcourse, now the evil was already behind us and the path had changed, she wouldn't be able to leave me. But I didn't want her resentment either. I was truly the fallen angel here. Lucifer had nothing on me, for I ruined people's lifes out of mere selfishness. _Was there any bigger sin than this?_ I didn't think so.

Bella brought me back out of the hell I was wallowing in, as she pulled me closer to her and looked into my eyes. Worry burned in them and I just sighed and shook my head. _How could I tell her what was on my mind?_  
'What are we going to do with Peter?' She asked me as she gazed into my eyes. _Oh, so she hadn't been worrying about me, but about the boy._  
There was that familiar sting again.

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	16. Chapter 16 : Thanksgiving

**I don't own Twilight**

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My family hadn't been too eager when we got home and found me dragging another werewolf behind me.

_**Sheesh, what are we now? The new animal shelter! **_- Emmett's loud thoughts always seemed scream at me and I flinched unwillingly.

_**Great! Fido, here isn't enough. Edward just has to drag in Fifi and Rover as well. Stupid selfish ... grrrrr -**_ Rosalie mentally snarled at me and I would have laughed if I hadn't been so annoyed with her right now.

_**Emmett is going to have to built a bigger cage -**_ Jasper's thoughts were strangely calm, considering the fact I was just bringing in another of our mortal enemies.

_**He's not going to be as easy about this as the girl, Edward -**_ Alice warned me.

I let my mind wonder back to that crucial moment.

**FLASHBACK**

Bella had asked me what we were going to do with Peter and I hadn't known how to answer her. I had just stood there for a long while, listening to the thoughts of Bella's former best friend.

_**Vampires, ugh! Why did she have to be one of them? Bella is such a nice girl...No, she's a vampire, Peter. You can't think like this. She tasted so good, ...but why hadn't I just killed her right there and then? I wanted to.  
I shouldn't think of her as my friend, she's my lunch. So, it's hard now, next month I'll get her, all of them. I know where they live... -**_ A loud growl from me interrupted his train of tought as I attacked him this time. I grabbed hem tight between my arms and it took my every inch of control not to bite down.

'Peter, are you alright? What's going on in there?' His father yelled outside the door. I was startled for a moment, then I quickly showed Peter my teeth.  
'Everything's ok, dad. We're just playing.' Peter sounded very normal and I wondered how he could manage to sound so calm. We were all very silent, while we heard the man walking down the stairs and turning the TV back on downstairs. His father, I had forgotten all about him. Ofcourse, if anything happened to Peter, he would report us. He had seen me and Nessie after all.

I released my hold on him and slowly walked up to Jacob.  
'Jake, I am going to leave the house with Nessie. We'll take the car, hide it and then we will come back. We'll wait just outside the window. You have to keep an eye on him. Make sure he talks to his parents after we have left, without showing yourself and without him telling to much. To avoid suspicion when we take him afterwards.' I spoke the words loud enough for Peter to hear and then I turned to him as I gave the final order to Jake, 'Otherwise, you'll have to kill his parents and Bella will take care of Peter.'  
This was not something I wanted to do, for I was disgusted by the idea of hurting innocent people. But I needed to get my message across. Peter looked dazed, when he had heard the final request and Bella just stood there, defeated. It broke my heart, to see my wife in so much pain.

I couldn't just let this happen. We couldn't afford exposure and I had heard his plans to take us, Cullens, down in his mind. I needed to act now.  
I pulled Nessie by her hand downstairs. I quickly moved to the door, as I saw Peter's father turn his head, I quickly took my leave, as he gazed behind us.

About 10 minutes later I was dangling outside the window. Nessie had stayed by the car. I peeked through and Bella who had noticed my presence, came to open the window. Jacob and Peter weren't in the room, so he had done like I told him. He was talking to his parents, to avoid suspicion. I listened carefully as I waited for them to return.  
'No, I'm not hungry, dad. And I should really go finish that paper.' Peter yelled at his father. _What was wrong with this boy? He was about to be abducted by vampires and he wanted to leave his father with a fight._ I shook my head and Bella, who was probably thinking the same, shrugged and smiled at me.

**End Flashback**

Peter struggled to break free, as he took in the room full of vampires. This took me right back. I held on to him tighter and looked at Alice for a second.  
She walked up to him and came to a stop only inches from his face.  
'We all liked you Peter, but we would never allow you to hurt Bella or any of us. I truly regret how this had to turn out.' She spoke softly as she kept her eyes tight on him. He winced at the name of Bella, but immediatly squared his shoulders and put on a challenging face.

_**No, not going to be easy, this one. **_- Alice warned me again. I nodded and dragged him to the stairs, where I tied him up, just as I had with the girl before.

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It was thanksgiving and our house was filled. Jacob's pack was here, along with Renée, Phil, Charlie and Sue. Stacy was watching a movie with Jacob and Nessie, the plates with the turkey sitting carefully on their laps.  
Peter glared at them from the staircase. I'd tried to release him a couple of times, but he always started planning his escape and revenge. So I had been obligated to keep him tied up. Everyone looked at him occasionaly, but not daring to mention what was going on here.

Leah had decided to be the better woman tonight, so she went to sit beside him.  
'You want some of this turkey?' She asked him politely. He just scowled at her. 'They are nice, don't you think? At first I didn't care much for them either, but they are really good people.' She tried, but he nearly snarled at her for saying something like that.  
She sighed and then turned her focus on the TV, still sitting silently besides him.

'So Stacey, do you like being a wolf?' Jacob asked nonchalant.  
Peter's head snapped up as realization hit. He had thought she was a human, who was acting like our little pet or something. He didn't know her, that much was obvious. And he was convinced she wasn't part of Jacob's weird pack. He had overheard us talking about the shapeshifters and their differences with the Children of the Moon. But this girl didn't fit the bill, she had a normal human temperature and smelled human. He had felt her skin once, as she had handed him a bowl of cereal.

As he realized she was like him, he only got more resentful of her.  
He had been angry for a human being there and in his mind offering us her blood every night, like a minion in some dark vampire movie.  
But to learn she was like him and didn't seem to hate us, for Stacey had truly become used to us and even liked some of us, that was just too much for poor Peter to take in.  
He yelled 'Traitor' at her, but she acted as if she hadn't heard him.  
'Not really, Jake. Especially now, I've got to meet you guys. I wouldn't want to hurt any of you. And I don't like waking up and remembering some of the horrible things I have done.' Her voice broke as she spoke of the horrible things and I saw some memories of her attacking innocent people and not being able to control her hunger. Her guilt afterwards and her despair as she came across some article or news report on the victim she had so brutaly deformed and eaten.

She reminded me a lot of our kind. Well the vampires who had remorse, anyway. The depression Jasper had felt, the guilt I myself had wallowed in, it was strange to hear that our true enemies had felt the same way we had. Basically, having a shared faith as ours, for they hadn't chosen this and they didn't want to do these things. But the hunger and the instincts were too great to fight against. I truly felt sorry for Stacey and so I walked over to her and put my arm around her.  
She turned her face up to me and smiled. A genuine smile, a thankful smile.

Peter didn't like this at all and he hissed 'Traitor' once more under his breath.  
Leah gave him a soft slap against his head and mumbled something in the line of 'stupid kid' as she got up and walked away from him.

'Come on, man! That's got to be uncomfortable. Just play nice and you'll be running free like our girl here.' Emmett tried to reason with Peter. Peter had been sitting there for nearly 2 weeks and his arms hurt terribly. Bella would walk around with him for an hour a day, while his hands would still be tied up, just to make sure he wouldn't escape. We all started to pity this head strong boy, but he would have none of that. He just kept growling, mumbling and whenever Stacey passed him by you could hear him screaming insults from deep inside the forest. Well we could anyway. I noticed his conviction started to waver somewhat and asked Bella if she could try to talk some sense into Peter.

Emmett and Rosalie had nearly finished the cage, but the idea of him spending day and night in a cage, seemed brutal.  
As Emmett sighed and shrugged while entering the living room, Bella took it as her cue to attempt the same thing.  
She slowly walked up to Peter, with a big smile, I couldn't understand how she managed after the heart break he had caused her.  
'Peter,' She started and gave him a friendly nudge at his shoulder 'I'm sorry about all of this. I still consider you my friend and it hurts me to know how much I disgust you right now.' If she could have cried, she would have. The pained look on her face made me cringe and I would love to run over there, comfort her and destroy this animal that hurt her so. But to do so, I would hurt her only more, and then I would not be able to live with myself any longer. Maybe it was my selfish nature that did not want her to be the source of her pain, for I could not stand her anger or even the slightest possibility that she would come to hate me.

As Peter hadn't answered her, she continued with her plea 'You may think of us what you will, but we really do not like seeing you suffer. If you could only promise us not to try and run away, we would happily set you loose and consider you our guest. Please, Peter. If you ever cared for me, then do this for me, please. I can not watch you like this any longer." Her hands moved to him as to take his hands, but she caught them and let them fall in her lap. My own heart ached for her pain and I couldn't look at it any longer. I pulled Alice with me on the way out.

'Will this work, Alice? Haven't you seen anything yet?' I asked her, my voice more desperate with every word. She just shook her head.  
As I doubted why she shook, which question she was responding to, I caught a glimpse of her mind.  
_**If that Peter guy could just make up his mind already. I want to know as well. I don't like being blind. Is Edward listening now? Yep! **_- She shrugged and then I heard nothing from her besides her pain for Bella.  
Obviously she felt the same way as I did, when it came to Bella. It was only fair to say, she even liked Bella more than she liked me, who had always been her favorite brother. I didn't mind, anyone who loved Bella was an angel in my eyes. As I caught her thinking of scratching out Peter's eyes, I couldn't help myself. I laughed harder than I had in the last couple of weeks. Alice's imagination was always very vivid and looking at this tiny thing attacking that monster, surely lightened my mood.

It was only for a short while ofcourse. As soon as Alice started thinking of more horrible things that could happen by the hand of Peter, I felt myself being dragged under a heavy dark cloak that only doubled my despair and grieve. 'Alice, stop it!' I snapped at her.  
_**Sorry Edward.**_ - She answered mentally.  
Then absolutely unexpected, her face went blank, her gaze somewhere distant and I saw her vision as it presented itself in her mind.

I ran straight up to Carlisle. I needed to stop this. This would destroy Bella for sure. I couldn't let this happen. Maybe if we could cut them off, beat them to the punch, then they would never be presented with this ocassion.  
I couldn't let them get to close, we would have to get to them first. One week, Alice had said. One week should be enough to get there first.

Ofcourse, honestly, I liked the outcome a little bit, it would get rid of a big part of our problems, but Bella had always suprised me. She was a magnet for everything dangerous and mythical, I might add. And ofcourse, I had grown quite fond of Stacey, all of us had, just like she had felt comfortable with us. As long as we could restrain the monster inside her when the moon was full, there was no need in her getting hurt. And Peter, well like I said, it would solve a lot of our problems, but it would destroy my Bella and therefor it would also destroy me.  
I swung the door of Carlisle's office open with more force than necessary.  
He jumped up from my urgent entrance and looked stunned for a second, then his features smoothed out in a blink of an eye.

_**What can I do for you, my son? -**_ He smiled at the thought of the word son with such an overwhelming love that I regretted being the messenger, who would surely make that smile disappear in an instant.  
'Alice had a vision about the Children of the Moon.' My voice broke and he knew instantly that I meant the two who were momentarily in our custody.  
_**Peter and Stacey?**_- He asked me  
I nodded and let my head hang for a second, then I looked him in the eye.  
'If we can outrun them and get there before they come to us, we might be able to save them. I have to believe there is a way to prevent this from happening. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if Bella ...' My voice broke again and I couldn't even finish my sentence. I saw the pain and fire in my eyes through Carlisle's mind and it only made me feel more pained.

_**You lost me, son. Who is coming? What is going to happen to Stacey and Peter? Tell me, Edward.- **_His mental plea was urgent and his face reflected somewhat of my pain. As I couldn't speak yet he continued, talking to me without the use of his vocals.  
_**Edward, nothing will happen to them. You said yourself, there is a way to prevent whatever you fear of happening. You shouldn't worry about Bella, she is strong and can take care of herself. Besides we would never let anything happen that hurts the family or their friends. Now, calm down and please, tell me exactly what Alice saw.-**_  
I inhaled a couple of times to steady myself, as if I needed to, it was not like it was helping, not even for the tiniest bit.

'They are coming in a week. They will not be pleased with the Children of the Moon being here and they won't be able to control their impulses. They will kill them both. We won't be able to do anything about it, because we will be to busy protecting Jacob and Bella. For they will try to intervene and they will be no match for them, so we will pull them away and not be able to protect the werewolves. The Amazons are just too big and strong. Bella is no match for them. We need to get to South America before they leave.'  
My words had come swiftly and with a hint of despair, that was all too easy for Carlisle to pick up on. He came over to me and put his arm around my shoulder.  
_**We will leave first thing tomorrow, Alice is probably booking tickets as we speak. Don't worry, son. They won't hurt them, for they won't have the need to come here themselves. And look on the bright side, Nessie will be overjoyed with the posibility to visit her friends.-**_ He squeezed my shoulder and then continued reading his book. This was my cue to leave.

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	17. Chapter 17 : Amazons

**I don't own Twilight. **

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We were sitting on the plane, Nessie, Alice, Jasper, Jacob and me. Bella wanted to stay with Peter and the others were going to look after Stacey. Just in case we should arrive to late. Nessie was bouncing in her chair, the enthusiasm all too obvious. Alice's eyes were almost constantly glazed over as she searched for the future. Jasper was agitated by Nessie's enthusiasm, he tried to send her waves of calm, but it just didn't seem to help.  
Jacob sat just quiet as he watched Nessie with a foolish grin on his face.  
For myself, I was worried, I just couldn't shake the fear of being too late and if they had already left, what would they do to my beautiful wife as she would try to protect Peter.

I just couldn't seem to shake these thoughts and spend the entire trip brooding over it. After the plane landed, we took a cab to bring us as close as possible and after that we needed to run quite some distance.  
We finally reached the forest and we split up in groups of 2, besides myself ofcourse, who ran alone. We sniffed the air and searched frantically for the three huge women.

_**Is that Edward? Were are the others? What is he doing here?-**_ The questions that were filling Zafrina's mind, caught me before anything else. I looked around, not having smelled her yet, to search were the sound was coming from.  
Then I saw the big woman as she came sprinting towards me, nearly crushing me as she took me in her arms for a hug.

'Yes, Zafrina, it's me.' I said as I smiled my crooked smile.  
I cried out for the others, as I was sure they would hear me and Zafrina did the same for her sisters. In a matter of seconds we were all standing in a friendly circle, exchanging hugs and kisses. Nessie jumped in Zafrina's arms and stayed there for the rest of the day, not willing to leave this wonderful creature and her embrace.

As happy as they were to see us, they were somewhat suspicious of our sudden arrival and not to mention the fact that we were not complete in our numbers. Kachiri's mind was constantly questioning our motives and didn't seem to be fooled by our excuses. We had told her that Nessie longed to see them, but Carlisle hadn't wished to leave the hospital. Emmett, Rosalie and Bella didn't want to miss school to avoid suspicion and Esme had stayed home as the loving mother to take care of them.

_**If it could raise suspicion, then why did they come with so many still? And why would Bella? Isn't she in another school? Or has she changed back? And why Jasper and Alice instead of Bella? We are so much closer to Bella than them. And how come they show up here, only one day before our departure to Washington? There is something strange going on. I am certain of it! -**_ Kachiri's mind didn't seem to be to far of target, but I needed to reassure her somehow that there was nothing strange going on.

'Kachiri. All of us, Cullens, are very fond of you three, so you shouldn't question Alice and Jasper's company. For Bella, she is part of a writer's club and had a very important event coming up regarding a book she wrote for school. She couldn't afford to miss this. As for our timing, seems it's just coincidence, for Nessie has bugged us ever since we got back last time and somehow she managed to get us to come now. Nothing strange going on, sweet Kachiri. I give you my word as a gentleman.'

My last words seemed to convince her, for the big lady, who I feared to be honest, suddenly smiled so big it showed of all of her perfect teeth. I smiled back and then she took me in a big hug.  
'Sweet Kachiri, huh? I think you are quite the nice gentleman yourself, Edward.' Her laugh boomed across the forest and not to soon she had the entire party rolling with laughter.

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I was sitting in my tent, wondering why Bella hadn't answered my calls lately. I'd become very worried, but I couldn't deprive Nessie from Zafrina's attention any more than necessary. Each time I had reached the house, I just seemed to have missed her. She would be out hunting or gone shopping with Stacey, all sorts of things. Her cell was turned off and I wondered if she was avoiding me on purpose.

As I dialed our number again, I told myself it would be the last time. If she still didn't come to the phone, I was going to take the next flight home.  
Esme answered after the first ring.  
'Cullen Residence, Esme speaking.' Her soft voice said.  
'Esme, it's Edward. Is Bella home?' I noticed my voice shook a little.  
'No, dear. She and Peter are out shopping for groceries. You wouldn't believe how much he and Stacey eat these days. But at least he is eating now.' I heard her relief as she sighed a little.  
_So, now she is out shopping with Peter! What is going on? And since when did she manage to turn Peter around? My mind was set. I was going home._  
_Let them be angry and shout all they want. My wife was and will always be my priority._  
With a quick 'goodbye' I hung up on Esme and walked out of my tent to find the others.

I had barely stepped out of my little tent as Jasper put his hand on my shoulder.  
_**Edward, I can feel your distress. Please, Bella loves you. You shouldn't worry this much. -**_ He sent me a wave of calm to accompany his soothing words.  
'I don't care, Jasper! I'm going home. I need to talk to my wife. She is avoiding me, I am sure of it. Why else would she always leave around the time I'm calling home? I have to confront her about this!' My voice had picked up a few octaves and before I could realize, I noticed I was shouting.  
_**Edward, don't stress yourself like this. She's fine, I am certain of it. And about the confronting part. We have to leave anyway.-**_ Another sense of calm came over me.  
'What do you mean, we have to leave anyway? Is there something Alice has seen that you are not telling me? Is there something going on with Bella?' I nearly choked on the words, but I managed to get them out.  
_**No, Edward. But it will be full moon in a couple of days and I would rather we be home with the others, when the Children of the Moon, decide to show their ugly heads.-**_ He squeezed my shoulder gently as he spoke of Stacey and Peter.

Ofcourse, how had I been able to forget about this. I simply nodded at Jasper and went over to Nessie and Zafrina, who were occupied with there favorite game. Showing each other 'pretty pictures'.  
'Zafrina, pardon my intrusion. But I need Nessie to start packing. We will be leaving tonight, so we can take the morning flight home.' I saw Nessie's face becoming defiant and quickly added 'Renee is coming over from Florida for a visit and we would like to be home for this occasion.' Ofcourse this was a lie and I would make my amends with Nessie on the plane. But for now, I couldn't reveal the real occasion. Nessie started jumping up and down and placed her hand on Zafrina's face, with a picture of her grandmother and all the love she felt towards this wonderful human. Zafrina smiled at Nessie in that same manner she always did. As if she was possible of melting away with all the the love she felt towards this endearing creature.

'Certainly Edward, you can finish up packing and I will inform my sisters, so we can give you the proper goodbye.' She quickly pecked Nessie on the cheek and went out to find her sisters, Nessie danced towards her tent, which contained Jacob and her enthusiasm was unbelievable.

We had been here for more than a week and the tranquility of the forest at night and the liveliness at day had put some kind of spell on me as it had always done and I was reluctant to leave. But this time my sweet Bella was not here, so the reluctance was easily replaced with enthusiasm and a great sense of desire. Just being able to see her face again would be as the sun in the darkest of days. For her not having with me was devastating and to be honest, the last couple of days had been the most miserable days of my life.

The next time I saw her, she would have to tell me why she would put me through such a rollercoaster of feelings and why she had felt the need to avoid my calls. Knowing Bella, there would be a good reason and as Jasper had said, she did love me and I shouldn't worry. But still, it was my nature, and she knew this too. -_**Just a couple of days, Edward and you will be able to see your angel again.-**_ This thought made me smile and a sigh escaped my lips just as I finished my packing. It was a thought send to me by Jasper ofcourse and how grateful I was of having him as a brother.

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	18. Chapter 18 : Full moon

**I don't own Twilight**

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'Sweetheart, I had a lot to take care of while you guys were gone. And tomorrow is a full moon. We needed to make sure the cage was strong enough to contain them both and they do need human food. I really didn't want to miss your calls, but I had a lot to do, okay.' Bella pleaded as she held my hands firmly in hers.

Now, I really felt like a fool, but she must understand my insecurities by now.  
As if she could read my mind, she mouthed 'I love you' and kissed me passionately. I didn't know how long we had been standing there at the door, kissing with every inch of love we felt for each other. But we were suddenly interrupted by a laughing Emmett.  
'Oh please guys! Just get a room already!' His booming laughter filled the entire house and I couldn't hold back my own laughter.

'Love, where are Stacey and Peter?' I needed to know, hadn't he wished to destroy us all and now he was free to do as he pleased. It just didn't seem right.  
'There in their room.' She said as if it was no big deal. _What! Their room? Since when did that monster have a room in our house? This isn't a hotel._

She saw the distress on my face and just cupped my face. Her eyes pleaded for me to calm down.  
She walked me upstairs to their room. She knocked once and then opened the door quickly. Stacey and Peter were gazing lovingly into each others eyes and didn't seem to have even noticed our presence.  
_Was this the change? Had he fallen in love with Stacey and had she convinced him of our good intentions? Must be._

Merely 2 hours before the full moon showed his beautiful face the entire family was on the edge of their seats. I'd locked Stacey and Peter in the cage, but it didn't seem to take the fear away. Although my loving wife had provided the best materials and had even been smart enough to assemble a shield around the cage in case it would get to hazardous, my family was still anxious and filled with fear.  
_**P****lease help me, Edward-**_ Jasper's voice called out to me in absolute despair.  
I scanned the room, till my eyes found him. Jasper had collapsed onto the floor, his head in his hands, without a doubt all the tension and emotions were to much for him. Just as I wanted to go over to him and pull him outside, Bella walked towards him.

She placed his hand on his shoulder and seemed to be shielding him, because all of the sudden I hadn't been able to pick up on a single thought coming from him. She whispered something in his ears and took his hand, while strolling outside.  
_The familiar sting of jealousy ripped through my heart once more, but why?_  
_It's just my brother and my wife. I shouldn't feel this way. She had given enough proof of her love on numerous occasions. Then why do I feel this pain? Will I never get passed my self-loathing and my brooding nature? Ofcourse, for Bella has changed me, has she not? Every moment I have spent with her alone, have been moments of pure bliss._

_**Bro, snap out of it! -**_ Emmett's loud mental voice pulled me out of my train of thought and then I saw Bella sitting on the couch. I hurried down to her. She placed her lips gently on mine before she whispered into my ear. 'I've sent Jasper out hunting. Poor boy was crumbling with all the tension around here. In case this goes wrong. I love you.' With these words she cupped my face and kissed me fiercely.  
I couldn't deny the thruth in her words, for her kiss was proof enough. It held every possible emotion a wife could feel for her husband and so much more.  
_God, how I love this woman. _That was the thought going through my mind as I heard the screams from the garage. It had begun.

Their screams were painful and heartbreaking to listen at. Every part of my body screamed to go see if they were alright, to take them in my arms and try to take the pain away. Especially poor little Stacey's pain. I noticed the same look on my wife's face, no doubt was the pain of her 'best' friend cutting directly through her heart. I shut my eyes and tried to tune out all these sounds, but it just wouldn't work. In a blink of an eye, I felt Bella's hand leave mine and as I opened my eyes she was already at the door of the garage, struggling to break free from the grip Emmett had on her waist.

I hurried down to take her hands and force her to return to the living room with me, but she just pulled her hands away and started yelling at us.  
'Can't you hear their pain? We have to do something! Carlisle! Do something!' As soon as she had screamed out her agony, the sounds died and there came no sound from the garage anymore.

Bella took a deep breath, as if she had forgotten how to breathe. She followed us back to the living and let herself slide down the wall to the floor in the corner. Her eyes were filled with pain and sadness and without the release of tears, it would stay that way for a while. Such a curse it could be sometimes to be a monster, even crying was not possible for our kind. When we were in pain, we just felt the venom stinging our eyes, but they would not fall and the pain would stay bottled up behind our lids. Such a horrible faith I had brought upon my wife, it broke my heart just to watch her shake as if she was crying and not being able to compose herself.

Suddenly other sounds broke through the silence. The Children of the Moon were hungry and being locked up, didn't make this situation easier.  
Several pained howls echoed through the house, accompanied with the sounds of claws on metal as they tried to break free from there cage. Ofcourse their distress would be greater being in a house full of vampires. Smelling us as our scent called for them and not being able to reach us.  
Their howls only intensified the heartbreak we could all feel for them. _Nobody should be allowed to be in such pain. Why would they be doomed to such a horrible faith, what have they done wrong in this world? _It just didn't seem right.

When their howling ceased and where replaced by murderous growls, that was the moment Bella couldn't hold herself anymore.  
She lifted her shield and warned me to obey her.  
_**Edward, stay! I need to make sure, they don't kill each other! STAY!-**_  
With this she ran out of the room with Emmett hot on her tail.

'Sis, don't go in there!' I heard Emmett yelling as Bella gripped the handle and swung open the door. He followed her ofcourse, too afraid to let any harm come to his little sister. The growls stopped almost in the same second and all that was left was a deafening silence. The silence was even harder to bear, for my fear had now completely taken over my mind.  
I nearly ran after them, but I was too afraid my wife would be extremely angry with me and I didn't want to put her under more strain as it was.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a horrible scream of agony and I jumped to my feet and ran into the garage.  
Stacey had gotten hold of Bella's lower arm and was pulling with all her might, the ripping sounds had started and in a flash I was holding her upper arm and pulling it back. Emmett had gotten hold of a hammer and was slamming it furiously on Stacey's wrist to release her hold on Bella.  
It seemed an endless struggle, but I couldn't afford to let go of Bella's upper arm or Stacey would rip it off and devour every inch of her obtained meat.

Finally, she couldn't stand the pain of Emmett's blows to her wrist and in the second she loosened her grip I had pulled Bella's arm out of reach. I held her arm in place so it could heal properly, when all of the sudden Jasper walks in. I would have been suprised if I hadn't heard the pain Bella was in and was convinced this was the only reason Jasper had even entered the house. He glared at the wolves and then to my amusement he thought something I wouldn't have expected of him.

_**If I send them a wave of lust, they'll be to occupied to hurt my loved ones -**_ With this he sent out a wave of lust. I chuckled to myself and Bella gazed at me as if I had gone mad. Then Emmett screamed out as he bolted for the door.  
'Ew! I don't need to see this, it's even worse than national geographic!' He simply stated at the door, before leaving the room.  
Bella burst out into laughter and Jasper and I followed suit.  
Jasper high-fived me and I couldn't hold back another fit of laughter.

The small gesture between me and Jasper must have clarified the situation for Bella, because all of the sudden she stood right in front of Jasper, giving him the evil eye.  
'Just don't ever try that on me, mister!' Bella said as she poked Jasper with her finger. 'Besides, it's not like I need it.' She added as she swayed her hips at me. Then she walked out of the room as well, making us laugh once more.  
**_You've got a hell of a woman there. -_** Jasper told me silently and I couldn't disagree with that. I nodded and felt the foolish grin, the one only provoked by my love, creeping up my face. _I sure did!_

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	19. Chapter 19 : Prom

**I do not own any part of Twilight**

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'I'm so sorry, Bella!' I heard Stacey pleading again. It had been 3 days since that night and Bella had already told her she wasn't angry at all. Still Stacey couldn't let a minute go by without apologizing. It was really starting to get on Bella's nerves and I couldn't blame her, it was even starting to get on my nerves.  
We had been occupied in some very physical contact that morning, when Stacey all of the sudden bursted through the door to show her remorse. It wouldn't take a fool to see how disgruntled I was by this experience.  
But being the gentleman that I was, I told her it wasn't a problem and left the room. Ofcourse, I didn't feel that way, all the lust bottled up inside me needed some kind of release and Stacey was still following my wife like some kind of puppy.

'Snap out of it! Horn dog!' Jasper said to me and those last words seemed to work as a charm, for I heard his steps on the first floor as he ran as fast as he could to join in on THIS conversation.  
'Horn dog? Somebody didn't reach the finish line? Damn, Edward, have you seen your wife? I wouldn't need to think twice.' Emmett's booming voice filled the house and I couldn't help but wonder if Bella heard him.  
Then he added some mental picture of bending over Bella in some unappropriate position. I couldn't help but growl at my brother for even imagining my wife in such a compromising stand. Jasper sensing my anger, found it not better to replace it with some more lust.

I was going insane here and they were not helping either.  
_What kind of brothers were they?_ I growled at Jasper this time and he laughed. _He laughed, for God's sake!_  
I ran upstairs and grabbed Bella's wrist, pushing Stacey aside. She fell down the stairs, but Emmett caught her and his booming voice sounded around the house 'SCOOOOOOOOOOORRREEEEE!!'

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Our Junior year was coming to an end, only 8 days till prom and Bella had still not agreed to come with us. I was starting to think she wouldn't because of Tim, but I needed my wife to be there. I couldn't go by myself now could I. Each time we had made love, I would ask and each time she would say 'No' or 'Maybe'. So I was getting a little desperate.

'Oh Edward!' Alice came dancing into the lunch room 'She'll go if you use Jasper.' She whispered at me. _Use Jasper? What is that suppose to mean?_  
As if she could read my mind, she quickly ran over some vision she had seen about an hour before.  
In the vision, I saw me asking Bella and Jasper was concentrating very hard, his eyes fixated on my wife and his features, well let's just say it looked like he was extremely constipated.  
As she said 'yes', Alice came bouncing in to take her shopping and I gave Jasper a thumbs up, while he did a little victory dance. It all seemed a little silly to me, but if Alice saw it, then it would work.

Jasper who had heard Alice whisper at me was looking intently at me and when he saw me return from my daze, he asked silently.  
'What do you need me for, Edward?'  
'Apparently you are going to make sure Bella is coming to prom with us.' I told him with a little bit of hesitation in my voice.  
'Sure, I'd love to see Bella's reaction when Alice wants to dress her up again.' He laughed softly, before going on 'I've never known a woman so adverse of doing the typical girly things.'

A small smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. Bella was ofcourse still the same Bella as she had been when she was human. She knew she was beautiful now and dressed somewhat more to Alice's liking, but still she didn't see the point in make up. It's one of the things I love about my wife and I couldn't agree more with her. She didn't need all the camouflage, for there had never been more natural beauty in this world and it would be a shame to hide it behind all that plaster as I like to call it.

_**So Bella is gonna come after all. Interesting... I should really think of something to make this a memorable day...haha...I'll show my little sis.-**_  
I could almost hear the wheel turning in Emmett's mind, but what he was planning I didn't know. It was going to be something big, I was sure of it.  
But it wouldn't be something bad, Emmett loved Bella to much to hurt her in any kind of way. I glared at him for a second and ofcourse he noticed.  
_**Shit! He's reading my mind again...isn't he? Yep, he is. Edward, I am going to think of something to make you stop ...-**_ I cocked my eyebrown and that seemed to make him think of the perfect thing for me to get the hell out of his mind. -_** Oh, Rosalie, baby... You know where I like it ...-**_ along with some awful mental pictures. I flinched and his booming laughter filled the lunch room.

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The scene had played out exactly as Alice had seen it and I couldn't be any happier. Jasper had been extremely disappointed when Bella didn't even put up a fight when Alice waltzed in to dress her up for prom. Ever since the girls had been in the bathroom, he had been moping around, muttering something along the lines of 'never taking things for granted'. I still hadn't figured out what Emmett was planning but I knew he referred it to something very unpleasant for Bella. I was really wondering about that as the girls started walking down the stairs. Carlisle was announcing them as they came down and Esme was snapping pictures. It was a rather cute scene actually.

Ofcourse, my attention was only drawn as I heard the name 'Bella Cullen'.  
I quickly lifted myself from the couch and went to stand at the bottom of the stairs with my hand extended for the most wonderful creature on this planet. As I gazed upward to see her descending, my breath caught and I seemed to be unable to even speak a word.  
Bella was wearing a deep blue strapless dress, silk ofcourse and it hugged every curve perfectly. Emmett whistled and ofcourse was rewarded with a smack in the head by Rosalie, but I still couldn't speak as I placed the corsage on her wrist. She truly took my breath away. Everyone had started moving and I was still standing still, unable to move. Ofcourse this caused for a fit of laughter. 'Ooh Edward just got dazzled.' I heard Jacob yelling and I could faintly hear the giggle of my daughter.  
Still I couldn't snap out of it and I found myself staring at the face of this angel and her beautiful topaz eyes.  
'Hey loverboy! Were going to be late if you don't start moving.' Alice practically dragged me along. This time I was rewarded with the beautiful musical giggle of my wife and if she could have blushed she would be scarlet by now.

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We had been dancing for quite some time, barely noticing the other students stares as they watched the Cullen family twirling around elegantly, when all of the sudden a teacher took the stage and announced it was time to announce the king and queen of our junior dance.  
_**This is going to be sooooo good**_. Emmett's mind alerted me.  
_This must be his prank. What would it be? Me and some ugly girl. Had to be something like that. But I don't see what's so amusing about that._  
'And the king is Sam Cornell.' the teacher announced. Figures, the typical hormonal jock. Nothing funny so far.

'And the queen of this year is ... Bella Cullen.' _What!! She didn't even go to school here anymore._ The other students were screaming the same things in my head. Bella didn't seem to have noticed what was going on, so the teacher called her name once more. Bella cringed and looked around to see what was going on. When she saw all the students gazing at her and the teacher signaling for her to get on stage, I could almost see her shrink.  
She glared at us, obviously wondering who would do such a thing to her. Bella had never been fond of attention and now she found herself in the spotlight. She reluctantly got on stage and accepted the crown.  
As the teacher asked her to say a couple of words, she stepped up to the microphone timidly.

Then she spoke so forcefully it even surprised me.  
'Thank you very much for this honour. I'm not a student here, so it doesn't seem right. I will make sure to reward whoever is responsable for this gesture with everything I have. The depth of my feelings right now, will pale in the prospect of what I have in store for them. Now, Catch!' and with this she threw the crown in the air. When a girl, whose name I don't know caught the crown, she beckoned that girl to get on stage and take her place. Then she walked towards us with a glare that would frighten even Satan himself. I swallowed hard, for truly I feared for my brother and even for myself.

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	20. Chapter 20 : Ring

**Disclaimer : I don't own Twilight**

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It was summertime and we were once more at the rainforest with the Amazons. Besides my own little family, Bella had begged Emmett and Rosalie to come along. I thought it strange, but didn't mention it. After what happened at our prom I didn't need anything to upset my wife further.

She had given all the boys in the house the silent treatement for days. Jasper was the first to crack, he took her hands in her and pleaded her to forgive him, although he hadn't done anything wrong, he should have warned her that Emmett was planning something. As soon as she learned it was Emmett, she changed in front of our eyes. She said is was no big thing and pecked all of us on the cheek, even smelly Jacob.  
But we caught her glaring at Emmett on occasion, so we all knew it wasn't over yet.

We were all sitting around a big campfire. Jacob was telling ghost stories and Nessie had hidden her face in his broad chest. It was quite endearing actually. Suddenly Zafrina and Bella jumped up and walked slowly away from us.

'Love, where are you going? It's my turn next to tell stories and you know I want you by my side when I do.' I pleaded with her. I could hear Emmett whispering to Jacob about me being whipped, but I didn't pay attention to him.

'We're just going for a quick hunt, I'll be right back.' She said, but I knew she was lying. Besides why would she hunt with a human drinker? _**-Give it a rest, Edward! I'll be right back-**_ She told me through her mind. She must have noticed I recognized her lie.

My wife and Zafrina had left for only about five minutes, when Emmett began acting very strange. He got up but tripped over a root and fell to the ground, then he started trashing his legs and arms around as if something was attacking him. When he calmed down and sat him up right again, he started yelling 'Who turned off the lights?!' It was very strange. When I looked into his mind, all I saw was darkness.

'Rose, is that you? Rose?' then more silence, till suddenly he jumped up and started backing away. 'Nooooooooooo, killer bunnies! Run!' The entire group broke down laughing and when I turned to look around I saw Zafrina and Bella walking up to us. Zafrina was concentrating on Emmett and Bella looked very smug about herself. So this was her payback. My wife was a genius. As Zafrina released her hold on Emmett, he turned around looking terrified. I had never seen him scared before and suddenly I felt sorry for him._ Thank God, I had nothing to do with what happened at prom._

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**AFTER SUMMER**

Summer had passed once more and senior year had officially began. Only one year that parted me from my lovely Bella and then we could spend our days together again, no need for seperations.  
'Dad, I'm going to the mall with my friends Saturday, just so you know.' Nessie broke the silence as we were sitting at our lunch table, each staring off in space.  
'Ssh! Don't call me that! I'm your brother Edward, remember?' I hissed at her.  
'Whatever! I'm going shopping without the shopaholic pixie!' She squealed.  
'You didn't just call me what I think you called me, did you?' Alice grumbled.

I had to say something or Alice would force herself on the youngsters. The last thing my baby girl needed was an aunt following them around as they wanted to look at boys. For I was very certain she wasn't excited about the shopping part.  
'She does have a point, Alice. You do tend to push my poor wife and daughter to their limits. So just let this slide, okay, my dear sister.' A little bit of sweet talking never hurt anybody.  
'Sure, Edward. Just teach her some manners, so she never utters such words again!' Alice's tone was menacing, but I saw the smile on her face and knew she was only joking.  
I couldn't help myself and my mind started drifting towards Bella again.  
_What would she be doing?_ All kinds of images of her flooded my senses and without my knowledge I sighed a heavy sigh. That was the point were my family decided to infiltrate my brain again.

_**Such a lovesick puppy!-**_ Emmett ofcourse.  
_**Is he thinking of Bella again? I do feel a lot of longing and love. Hey, Edward you'll see her later. Don't fret, brother - **_When it comes to feelings, it's obvious the thought comes from Jasper.  
'Yes, I'll see her in 2 hours and 42 minutes.' I answered Jasper.  
_**Oh my god! He can't be for real! Is he counting the minutes now as well! He's such a girl!'**_ Emmett again.  
_**Daddy, you're so sweet! I so have to tell mom how he pines. Haha!'**_ The thought of Nessie telling Bella was to much, I couldn't let her know how I longed for her. She would think me clingy or creepy.

'You're not going to say anything to your mother, do you understand me?' So my tone was a little harsher than intended, but I wanted to make sure she wasn't going to tell Bella. Nessie just nodded with a strange look on her face.  
_**She wouldn't mind to know how much you long for her, Edward. She's beautiful after all. -**_ Rosalie and her shallow mind. I'm not going to respond to that. 

_How offending, as if Bella's beauty would be what matters to me. No Bella is more than that. She is warm, loving, smart, deep, strong, graceful, gentle and so much more. _Ofcourse, she is also stunning, but I have fallen for my wife's mind and not her body and to think that Rosalie can only see her for her physical qualities is disturbing to say the least.

Then I saw a vision from Alice as she pictured Nessie telling Bella how desperately I wanted her with me during school. Bella suddenly ran upstairs to our room and grabbed me in a tight embrace.  
'That's so sweet, from now on I'll take extra good care of you at night, so you'll need the time apart' With these words she raised her eyebrows a couple of times. That's when Alice forced her vision to stop.  
_**Don't need to see the rest. Ew!-**_ I smiled at Alice and turned quickly to my daughter.  
'I've changed my mind! Tell your mom!' Alice started laughing and I just stared at her. 'What?' I asked, which made her laugh even harder.  
Then she just shook her head and said 'Men!' in a very meaningful tone.  
That's when the bell rang and we split up for the rest of the day.

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Saturday came and as promised I made sure Alice wasn't going anywhere near Nessie and her friends. Jacob had gone to La Push for the day. Bella, Alice and Rosalie where having some girl time in Alice and Jasper's room. The two Werewolves were out having a wolfy date. Jasper and Emmett were out hunting and I couldn't help myself, while I was playing the piano I concentrated hard on the conversation upstairs.  
'So tell us, what were you doing when you ditched school on Friday?' I heard Rosalie ask someone. _Who ditched? Alice was at school, I was there. Did Bella ditch to go out with Jake?_  
'We went shopping.' Bella answered very uninterested in this topic of conversation.  
'Shopping?' Alice sounded hurt and confused.  
'Yeah.' Bella sighed.  
'Don't lie to us, Isabella! Whatever you two did can't be that bad! Unless...' Rosalie added some mental pictures of Bella panting below Jake to her statement. I flinched at the mere possibility.

'I'm not lying, you guys.' Bella whined.  
'What did you buy then, if you're not lying?' Rose asked  
'Nothing.' Bella whispered, while Rose snorted, it was a very unattractive sound coming from Rose.  
'So you ditch school to go shopping with Jake, while you hate shopping and then you buy nothing. Come on, Bella where not that stupid.' Rose sure knows how to cut to the chase.  
Bella lowered her voice as she whispered.  
'Don't say anything, especially not to Edward.' She waited for the others to agree and then continued. 'I helped Jake pick out... an engagement ring.' _What the hell!_ I nearly fell over the stool as I jumped up far too quickly from this statement.  
The furniture betrayed me as I knocked over the stool, while balancing myself. In mere seconds they were all in front of me.

Bella took a look at my distraught face and came slowly towards me, as if she was trying to show me she was not a threat. Like I could ever think such a thing, she was my angel.  
When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me down to the couch with her, then she pulled my head into her lap and ran her fingers through my hair to help me calm down.  
_She surely was a God's sent, there had never been a woman that could calm me down like she could._  
'I'm sorry, Edward. Jake wanted it to be a surprise, otherwise I would have told you yesterday.' Her words were barely audible, but every word was dripping with her love for me. I sat up so I could kiss her and show her there was no need for her apologies. Jacob on the other hand, he'd better be kissing my feet, when he got back.

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Sunday was an eventful day. We were having a bbq for Stacey, Peter and the Pack. Everyone was chatting happily and it was a comfortable joy to be a part of this scene. If you had asked me 10 years ago, I wouldn't have thought anything like this possible. Always hiding our true nature and locked up in our own little world, didn't improve the quality of life. But to be around loved ones, to mix up different worlds and to be so comfortable together, was a pure happiness I had never believed to achieve in my existence. And it was all thanks to my wife. Maybe it was part of an unidentified gift of hers. She hated being the center of attention, but somehow all our lives centered around her. She just didn't know it and if she did, she didn't wanted to admit to this. She was the glue that held all of our lives together, she was just so magnificent.

I was feeling peaceful as well as blissful when I saw Jacob dropping on one knee. I refused to let out the growl that was building inside of me. I refused to ruin this moment for Nessie, but he would have some things to answer to.  
He took her hand delicately in his and kissed her knuckles, before gazing into her beautiful brown eyes. The same beautiful brown eyes that once belonged to her mother.  
'Renesmee Carlie Cullen, since the moment you were born I knew there could never be another for me. Over the years I have been your protector, a brother, a friend and finally the love of your life. At least I'd like to think so.' he laughed a little ackward 'Nessie, you are my world and I will always be there for you. I will love and cherish you, I will protect you, I will be whatever you want me to be. Every moment with you is a lifetime in heaven and every moment away from you is torture. Would you please always be by my side and honour me in being my wife?' He finished, while he popped open the lid of a green velvet box.

Inside was a 24 carat golden ring with a ruby in the center shaped in a heart.  
Nessie just stood there, not answering but still gazing into his eyes.  
'Nessie, did you hear me? Honey? Will you marry me, Nessie?' He was getting frantic and started shaking slightly. Not from anger, but anguish this time. Then all of the sudden Nessie jumped into his arms, screaming from the top of her lungs 'Yes, yes yes yes!' He picked her up and spinned around with her tight in his arms. It was such an intimate moment, we all silently walked into the house, to let their have their privacy.

After about an half an hour, they walked inside. Both blushing and with wide smiles gracing their faces. Everyone took their turns in congratulating the happy couple, all but me. I said my congratulations to my daughter ofcourse and pressing a kiss on her cheek, but I gave Jake the silent treatement. He would get a piece of my mind, but not today. Today was all about them and they deserved their happiness.

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The next morning, I was still brooding. Bella didn't like this at all and she smacked my head as she spoke.  
'Edward, enough of this. They love each other and you shouldn't be moping around like this. You won't loose her! She'll always be your little girl, alright.' She must have been spending to much time with Rosalie and Emmett I thought, as I rubbed the back of my head.  
'That's not it, love. It's just...Nevermind, I'll talk to Jacob tonight and settle this.' I told her softly, as soon as I had mentioned Jacob she glared at me.  
'We owe Jake everything, without him Nessie and I wouldn't be here, remember that, Edward!' Bella said, her voice dripping with venom.

Ofcourse I knew that and I had nothing against him. He was exactly what I wanted for Nessie and more, but there were things that I needed to say to him. He had hurt my feelings and I needed for him to know. _There was nothing wrong with that right?_ I quickly recovered from my brooding nature as Bella walked past me in her school uniform. She looked sexy as hell in that uniform.  
'Uhuh, mister! Now is not the time.' She smiled and kissed me on the cheek before running downstairs.

All day at school, I kept wondering how to approach the topic and what Jacob would say. My family decided not to let me dwell on things and their thoughts kept on intruding my not so peaceful mind.  
_**He's going EMO on us again! -**_ Rosalie thought  
_**What the hell? Didn't he get laid or something? -**_ Emmett ofcourse  
_**Daddy, is this about the engagement? Don't you want me to marry with Jacob? -**_ As I heard my daughters mind, I quickly looked at her and kissed her on the cheek, before whispering 'No, honey. I am happy you find the right man for you.' She beamed at me and wrapped her arms around me.  
_**Then why didn't you talk to Jacob yesterday? He was very upset last night. He wanted your approval and you just pretended not to see him.-**_  
Even the voice in her head sounded hurt. I sighed deeply, before turning to look at my daughter. The hurt was evident in her eyes and broke my heart. 'I didn't mean to honey, it was just a shock. Okay?' I wasn't exactly telling the thruth, but I needed to talk to Jacob before she could.  
She kissed my cheek once more to show she understood and placed her hand on mine in a comforting way.  
I had such a sweet daughter, I had never imagined it possible, but I was damn grateful it was. She made my life so complete and now I was about to lose her. Not exactly, but things would never be the same and it broke my heart once more.

That night the family had given me and Jacob the privacy we needed. I was very grateful, for this was a heavy topic and I didn't want to upset anyone.  
After 20 minutes he still didn't understand my point of view, so I tried once more as I approached the subject again.  
'I just can't understand how you would go behind my back, Jacob. Have I ever given you reason not to trust me? And going shopping with my wife, while you order her to keep secrets from me. It's just not right.' I ranted.  
'Sorry, man, but what do you think I should have done?' He answered me.  
I sighed heavily. _Why couldn't he just see the error of his ways_.

'Jacob, let me tell you something. You were comfortable talking to me about the sexual problem before.' He nodded, so I continued 'Why would you not ask my blessing? Can you understand how much this hurts me? Nessie is my daughter and all I have left is to give her away on your marriage. For the rest of her existence, you will be the man who she'll ask for advice, the one she holds when she cries, the one that will catch her when she falls. I will become a part of the scenery in her life now. I would have at least liked to be the one to go buy her ring with you after you had asked my permission to marry her. I would have complied ofcourse, but the gesture still has a lot of meaning.' I breathed heavily as I finished my speech.

'I am sorry Edward, but I just felt more comfortable with Bella. She is still my best friend and in Nessie's defence you will always be her daddy. You will never loose her.' Sincerity rang in his voice, but it still hurts and I couldn't deny that.

'I understand that you are more comfortable with Bella. I am not always the easiest person to be around, but I do love my daughter and I would do anything for her happiness. So you must understand that what you did is not acceptable in my book. Call me old fashioned, if you will. Well, actually I am old, but it would have given me a sense of closure. The beginning of a new chapter and a different role. If there is a problem she will go to you, for matters she doesn't talk to you, she will talk to her mother. It is the way it goes. The love and bond will always be there, but she will never need or depend on me again, like she did before.' I drysobbed as realization hit me. _My baby was all grown up and soon I would have to place her hand in the hand of another man and she would start a life where she doesn't need me anymore._

Jacob looked uncomfortable as he didn't know how to soothe me, but as always my personal savior came to my rescue. My lovely wife had come home and immediately pulled me into her lap. She stroked my hair while whispering of her love into my ear. She always did know how to calm me down. Nessie might need me less, but my wife would always need me and love me. I gazed into her beautiful eyes and I knew. As I got lost in her eyes I felt that everything would be alright and that I was more loved than I could have ever dreamt of.

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	21. Chapter 21 : Long night

**I don't own Twilight**

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"Sweetie, are you ready?' I yelled once more. I was taking my daughter out to dinner once more. The last month I had seized every opportunity to be alone with my daughter. We went to movies, to the beach, to dinner, anything I could think of, just to spend a little time with my little miracle.  
'Yes, daddy.' Her voice came from behind me and as I turned my breath caught. She was such a gorgeous girl and the protective side of me wanted to order her back upstairs to cover herself up. But my rational side told me she was engaged and there was no more need for any of these kind of disputes. Besides I didn't want to ruin this evening. She was wearing a green strapless dress that barely came to her knees.

My coat was clenched between my fingers. I wanted to wrap it around her to cover her up, but if I did that she would start yelling at me for being to controlling and how she was an adult. So defeated even before we could go there I took a deep breath and put on my coat, trying to calm myself down. Jasper who had sensed my dilemma was snickering in the corner, while shaking his head. As if he knew what I was going through, he had never been a father. I grumbled a little while I offered my arm to my daughter and made my hasty escape.

'Daddy, are you alright?' she asked me as we drove out of town, towards the harbor.  
'Ofcourse, sweetie. Why wouldn't I be?' I asked her, keeping my eyes on the road.  
'Oh maybe the fact that you won't stop looking at the road and you are gripping the steering wheel so hard it's going to break off any moment now.' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm and at the end she even chuckled. I quickly looked at my hands and noticed she was right. I loosened my grip and averted my eyes to my daughter.  
'Sorry, sweetheart. Your uncle Jasper has been irritating me lately and therefor I am a little bit stressed. Don't worry yourself.' I knew that wasn't the exact thruth, but I didn't want to upset her either.

The rest of the drive to the restaurant passed in silence.  
When we arrived, I quickly got out of the car and opened the door for my daughter. I helped her out of the car and offered my arm once more before entering. She eagerly took it and smiled at me. Her eyes held so much adoration and admiration, I would have melted on the spot.  
My little girl still loved me and she looked up at me, not Jacob, but me.  
I smiled a little wider and as we were escorted to our table, I nearly bursted with happiness. She would always be my little girl and she would always think of me as the father, who she looks up at and loves more than words can describe. All former insecurities flew out the door and for the first time in a long time I truly could enjoy my daughter's company.

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All our family and friends had gathered again for Christmas. Esme had done a wonderful job in decorating the living room and Bella was as giddy as a little child. She came dancing across the room rowards me in her red dress.  
'Open it.' She whispered as she handed me a big box.  
Bella was rarely that excited about presents, but her enthusiasm surely had aroused my curiosity. I slowly tear off the paper.  
Inside the box were original scores from Beethoven. How she had managed to get them was beyond my comprehension, but I couldn't be happier. To hold these papers, knowing the genius had touched them and written on them himself, made me happier than I would have imagined. I stared at the scores in absolute awe for a while, not knowing what to say that could express my gratitude.  
'Thank you, love.' I pressed my lips on hers sweetly.  
The smile she offered me in return took my breath away and I gazed in her eyes for a while.  
'Well, where is my gift?' She beamed up at me once more, before fidgeting nervously at the bottom of her dress.  
I handed her a little box and kissed her temple.  
'They're beautiful, Edward. Thank you.' She kissed me chastily before putting on the diamond earrings I had bought her.

The pack had almost devoured all of the food as Alice turned towards Nessie.  
'So have you decided on a date for the wedding?' She asked softly.  
'Yes, actually we have.' Nessie answered and immediately she had the attention of the entire room 'We want to get married on New years Eve.'  
'What!?!' Alice shrieked, before running out of the room.  
She came bouncing in as quickly as she had left, with her laptop in her hand.  
'That's in less than a week, we need to plan quickly. Bella! Rosalie! Esme!' Alice had gone in full planning mode and there was no chance in changing her mind now.  
My lovely wife quickly rushed to her side, leaving me standing all alone underneath the mistletoe.  
Disappointment swept through me and Jasper just laughed at my expense.  
I had tried for fifteen minutes to get my love underneath it and in less than a second she was gone. I pouted without realizing it and Emmett just laughed. 'Tuck it in, you're going to sweep the floor with that lip!'  
I grimaced at him and then looked up at the mistletoe again.  
'Lil' Sis! Go peck litlle Edward before he eats the poor mistletoe.' Emmett cried out to Bella. Bella laughed and gave me a quick peck before returning to the laptop and Alice.  
_Well, merry Christmas, Edward._

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I had barely seen my girls the past week. During the day they would be looking for flowers, dresses and everything related to the wedding and during the night, they would sit together in Rosalie's room planning away. The wedding would take place in the early afternoon, followed by the reception and then at 8 pm there would be a new year's eve party. All the wedding guests would attend the party along with several human friends.  
Alice danced through the house exclaiming it to be the event of the year and all I could do was sulk.

I missed my wife and I missed my baby girl and they didn't even notice. I would try to casually walk past them, only to be shooed away. Jasper and Emmett had noticed my mood and insisted that I helped them with the arrangements for the bachelor party. Ofcourse, that was not exactly right up my alley so I declined. They were fools to think I would help them out with looking for strippers. Ofcourse, that left me feeling even more alone, because now I couldn't even spend time with my brothers.

During one of my brooding afternoons I noticed Jacob running around like a madman. He kept grumbling to himself, running in and outside of the house, absolutely clueless of what to do with himself.  
I decided to help put him out of his misery and in the same time put a stop to my isolation.  
'Come on Jacob, let's go get something to eat.' I told him as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked at me as if I had grown a second head and then somehow found his voice again. 'What are we eating? Mountain lion? Bear?' He asked while playing with the zipper of his jacket.  
'I thought we could go to that new little italian place.' I said as I unlocked my car. He nodded and got in quickly.

He had been picking at his food for over fifteen minutes before he finally broke the silence.  
'What if I'm not a good husband? Can she love me forever? I know I will love her forever. There will never be another for me. I don't see them, you know. But she is so wonderful and beautiful and caring. And I am just me, you know. I'm blunt at times and I'v got a temper and ... and...  
God! What if she doesn't want me after let's say fifty years or something? I wouldn't be able to survive that. Maybe her vampire side will evolve with time and she won't want me anymore. Maybe I'll disgust her. Man, what am I saying? She's my soulmate right? Otherwise, I wouldn't have imprinted on her. Does it work that way? Did she kind of imprint on me as well? Edward, dude, help me out here!' I hadn't interrupted his ranting, because he needed to come to his own conclusions. But now I had to tell him my opinion, so I did.

'Look, Jake. Nessie loves you and you love her. You imprinted on her, as you say, therefor she is the only one for you. I do not believe it works both ways. Though Nessie does love you with all of her heart. It may not be as powerful as what you experience towards her, but it's powerful enough. She will never love anyone else, of that I am certain. You truly are soulmates. You shouldn't be so self conscious, for there will never be a time where her love wavers. Do you understand me?' I made my voice as powerful as possible to put my point across and he nodded immediately.  
'Good, now finish your meal, so I can go hunting.' I said a little softer.

There were no other words spoken and there was no need for them.  
We both let go of our doubts about each other that day and subtly I could see our bond growing stronger.

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The evening before the wedding was quite amusing.  
The girls had left from early morning and Jacob was in a terrible mood. He wanted to see Nessie before our bachelor party, but she wouldn't even pick up her phone. I promised to try and reach her before we left, so he could kiss her goodbye before his eve of torture as he called it, started.  
I called Bella, who picked up at the second ring.  
'Edward?' She yelled through the phone.  
'Yes, love. Could ...' I didn't get to finish my sentence because I was cut off by Nessie's giggling. 'Love, what is going on?' I asked, my voice rising slightly.  
'Sorry, we are enjoying Nessie's bachelorette party.' She answered and I could hear the hesitance in her voice. _Bachelorette party?_

'Love, it's barely 3 PM.' I shook my head.  
'So? Anyway, why are you calling?' _What the hell? Is she really trying to dismiss me?_  
'I want to talk to Nessie for a minute.' I could hear her mumbling something before the voice of my baby came over the phone.  
'Y-Yesss?' She slurred. _Is she drunk? At this time of day? What are they doing? _My thoughts went a hundred miles an hour. I couldn't respond, so I merely passed my phone to Jake. I couldn't follow the conversation between my daughter and soon to be son in law as I kept thinking about what they could possibly be doing.

A group of women at 3 PM with alcohol and somewhere noisy.  
_What could that mean? Ofcourse, the vampires couldn't get drunk, but the humans could and apparently my daughter as well. What if something would happen to them. Drunk women have always been an easy prey to sexual predators. And what were they planning for the rest of the day?_  
I felt sick thinking about everything that could happen to my baby girl tonight and decided I needed to find them.  
I ran towards the door, but Emmett caught me before I could reach it.  
'Oh no you don't!' He said as he kept me in a death grip.

I hadn't noticed that Jacob had hung up the phone and continued to struggle against Emmett.  
'Edward, it's okay.' Jake said as he put his hand on my shoulder in an effort to calm me down.  
'How can you say that! My baby is drunk. Who knows what could happen to her! Where are they?' I yelled at him.  
I could hear Jasper snicker before he stepped in front of Jake.

'Have you forgotten that there are plenty of strong vampire women protecting her. Do you really think her mother, grandmother or aunts would let anything happen to her? Edward, they are fine.' He said calmly before chuckling and adding 'Always prone to overreaction.' With this he merely shook his head. Emmett noticed my muscles loosening up and released me. _Ofcourse, Bella would never let anything happen.  
How could I have been so stupid?_  
I headed to my piano to release my tension and frustration.

All to soon, I heard the boys gathering around the piano to start our night. Reluctantly I closed the lid and got off the stool, following them outside with a heavy heart.  
This was going to be a long night.

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	22. Chapter 22 : Wedding

**I don't own Twilight**

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Like I said, it was a long night. We went to Seattle for the night. Jasper had decided to project drunkenness, while we were at the night club. I tripped several times and knocked down a man with more muscles than Jean-Claude van Damme. I thought that would be the end of our night, but they just dragged me along to this obscene stripclub. The thoughts I picked up from inside this place were enough to make me throw up if I were still human. Jasper still hadn't let go of making us feel like drunken fools and Emmett unfortunately had recognized some kind of senator. Ofcourse he had to make a big deal out of it by laughing loudly and then yelling 'hey senator, what does the missus say about you being here?'. One of his bodyguards had asked us not so politely to vacate the area.

Personally, I couldn't be happier to have the night over with, but my two idiotic brothers and my soon to be son-in-law merely dragged me to the next club of women in inappropriate clothing. Emmett had secretly paid two ladies to perform some dance routine on Jake and my lap. The girl in front of me merely reminded me of Tanya and my brothers were very disappointed that her moves didn't cause any sort of reaction from my body. Ofcourse, I couldn't be prouder. I wanted to run home and tell my beautiful wife that she was the only one who could make me body respond in any way. But the boys made me promise never to reveal anything of this night, as if it would be such a secret. Weren't strippers like the standard on a bachelor party? I didn't exactly have any on my bachelor party, but that never bothered me.

Anyway, Emmett had let his big mouth run away with him one to many times and we were forcefully removed from the club at 5 AM. We walked around Seattle for a while untill Jacob complained about his need for food. We went to a diner and he ate all our plates as well. I tell you, that boy eats more than a horse. Jasper had decided to lift the fog of alcohol from us and when I regained my power of clear thinking again, I wanted nothing more than just go home and cuddle with my wife before the wedding.

Again my attempts were shot down as they dragged me along to some museum. Jasper kept sending different emotions to Jacob, causing the most hilarious reactions. Around noon we went for a quick hunt and then FINALLY we went home. I really had to hurry up to get ready for the wedding. One thing I can say, all my gloominess and worry about losing my baby girl hadn't crossed my mind untill those final moments.

I knew the time had come to get Nessie and walk her down the stairs and hand her over into the care of another man. I tried to lift my right foot to make my ascend up the stairs and to Nessie's bedroom, but I couldn't move. I didn't know how long I stood there rooted at the spot, untill Carlisle broke me from my reverie. "It'll be alright, son. Jacob has been by her side since her birth and he would never demand her to leave your presence. You have nothing to worry about. Ofcourse, it's hard to hand over your only daughter, but you mustn't regard is as that. He has always protected and cared for her and he has the deepest respect for you and your wife. Therefor, you must never fear alienation between you and Nessie, for it could never occur. Now go get my granddaughter and enjoy the biggest day of her life." He soothed me and I couldn't be more grateful having him as a father than in that exact moment. I quickly ran to my baby's room and knocked politely.

Nessie couldn't speak, her nerves had gotten the better of her and her face was paler than I had ever seen.  
"Jasper?" I whispered. He could hear me perfectly and in less than a second I could feel the waves of calm wash over us both.  
Nessie let out a deep sigh of relief and finally looked up at me with the biggest smile I had ever seen coming from her.  
"I'm proud of you, Nessie. You couldn't have chosen a better man." I told her as I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.  
She took my arm and slowly we descended the stairs. The song I had written and recorded for her, was playing in the background and I could already see a single tear making it's way down.  
I quickly wiped it from her face before we came into view and she smiled adoringly at me. My heart soared and it gave me the much needed strenght to continue our path towards Jacob.

As we came into view I heard the gasps and I smiled smugly for she was my daughter and she was truly the most beautiful creature on this earth, after my gorgeous wife ofcourse.  
She had on a gorgeous white dress, with silver dots on the flowers of the upper part and the dress had only one strap. It fell beautifully behind her on the floor and her silver heels were barely visible. She didn't wear a veil, but a diamant tiara was placed neatly on her head and she had never looked more divine. Her hair was pinned up behind the tiara with a couple of loose curls around her face. I just couldn't believe how quickly she had evolved into this beautiful woman.

_**Oh my God! I'm going to die right here! That woman is amazing and she is all mine! -**_ Jacob was practically shouting in his mind, but my smile grew because of his love for her. He kept his eyes fixed on hers and his smile was bright and wide. He was totally captivated by my daughter and I couldn't agree more, she was an angel.

I placed her hand in his and took my seat next to my wife and I couldn't help but think back to our wedding. How quickly our life had changed since then and how blessed we were with having been granted a daughter when all of us deemed it to be impossible for our kind.  
Before long, the ceremony was over and we walked to the garden for the reception.

As we all sat down to dinner, I took my time observing the party. Children of the moon, Shapeshifters, Vampires and last but not least Humans all gathered on this wonderful day. Bella had changed everything in our lives, without her there would be no peace with the Shapeshifters. The Children of the Moon would have ripped us apart or maybe the other way around and we most definately would never had taken the change to associate with Humans.  
And ofcourse my beautiful Renesmee, she had inherited all those wonderful qualities from her mother. She brought the same amount of peace and love to the people surrounding her as her mother had.

I was awoken from my musings as Billy Black tapped a spoon to his glass and Sam helped him up in a standing position.  
'As father of the groom I would like to make a speech.' he cleared his throat once more 'I can't describe the happiness I feel today. Bella and Nessie have always been like family to me and to see my son fall in love and marry with one of them can't bring me more joy. Ofcourse, I always thought he would marry Bella, but she has found the right man for her and I couldn't be happier for her. This doesn't mean I love Bella more, dear Nessie. That's absolutely not the case. You are a wonderful girl and it had been my pleasure seeing you grow up and to know my son's heart belongs to such a pure, sweet, loving girl as yourself makes me swell with pride. I would love to tell some embarassing stories about Jake's childhood, but I wouldn't do that to my son on such a day. So without further ado. To Nessie and Jacob. May your days be filled with love and your night with...well you catch my drift.' As Billy's speech came to an end, we all cheered and drank from our glass.

Ofcourse, I should have known the speeches wouldn't end there and actually any opportunity to discard some of the food and drinks were welcomed. Rosalie got up next and lifted her glass.  
'As maid of honour, I would like to say some words as well. Dear Nessie, I always looked at you as my little baby ... sister and it kind of pains me not being able to pick out your clothes, do your hair or make you dinner, but ... if you're happy, then I am happy. Therefor, live each day to the fullest, don't let any opportunity pass you by and the most important love with all of your heart. Jake, you are a good and strong man. Take care of my Nessie. And make lots of babies for me to take care of. oh... and by the way, this doesn't mean I forgave you for getting food in my hair.  
Anyway. To Nessie and Jacob and the sound of little feet from all those babies Nessie is going to pop out.' Another round of cheers and another drink, which I had emptied behind my back earlier. Well, that was an interesting speech.

Charlie got up next and I desperately hoped he wouldn't reveal his identity to all the humans, because we were supposed to be adopted and although he could pass as grandfather with his grey hair, it still could blow our cover.  
'I have known Jacob, Nessie and Bella for quite some time now. I look at them as the children I miss and I was honoured when Jake asked me to be his best man. I will always love all of them with all of my heart. I ... I ...' Charlie choked up and tears ran freely now. Charlie had never been an emotional man, but to see him like this made the venom sting in my eyes. As I glanced over at my wife I could see the tears that would never shed in her eyes and her body had started to shake from emotion. Nessie was better controlled, but a few tears made their way down.  
'Sorry, to Nessie and Jake.' Charlie managed to choke out, before letting himself fall down in his chair. His thoughts had always been quiet, but now I could pick out on all the grief and loss he felt. I felt his loneliness and although he had Sue, I doubt he would ever stop longing to have Bella in his home. He rarely saw us and that certainly weighed heavy on his mind and heart.

'Edward, say something.' Bella whispered to me.  
'What?' I asked back, wondering why we were whispering.  
'Edward Anthony Cullen! You're the father of the bride! Now speak!' Her words were barely audible but the authority in them along with the stern look, made me stand up abruptly, only to sit down again.  
'Isn't it up to Carlisle. He is supposed to be our father and there are humans present.' I whispered back, while I couldn't miss all the curious looks and thoughts about me standing up.  
Bella huffed and then nodded in agreement. I quickly nudged Carlisle to give him permission to do the speech.

'Well as father of the bride' I couldn't miss the emphasis he put on the word father and I flinched 'I also have some words to share. My beautiful Nessie, from the day I first saw you, you stole my heart along with all of the other members of our family. You had us all wrapped around your little finger and we al did your bidding in no time. Ofcourse as you grew older we could all see how you started clinging at Jacob and the love that blossomed between the two of you. This love was not a love at first sight.' Jake scoffed at this, because for him it was 'but a love nurtured and grown over the years. Your kind of love is a love that will withstand everything, for there is no greater love. We were very secluded people once and all that changed when Bella entered our lives, but still noone could predict that your arrival would make us even more outgoing. You, Nessie, were like a miracle, something I thought would never happen to this family. A blessing and each day with you, we spend thanking God for creating such a creature. You, Nessie, were a fresh breeze blowing through our lives and making us better people. You have opened up this family and you are without a doubt the center of our family. As for you Jake, you are a good man. Strong, kind, a great sense of humour and a big heart. Take good care of her and we love you dearly. Now let's toast to the happy couple.' again the 'here here' were uttered as the speech came to an end.

Then it was time for torture. Food.

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	23. Chapter 23 : Forever

**I don't own Twilight**

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Nessie and Jacob had left on their honeymoon in Paris and the guests had also left about two hours ago. Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Bella and I were sitting quietly spread across the living room. Each minding our own bussiness when Emmett all of the sudden jumped up from the couch.  
"Let's play 'spin the bottle'!" He cried out as he quickly grabbed an empty beer bottle from the wedding before.  
_**Is he serious? -**_ Rosalie  
_**I see, that's going to be fun -**_ Alice  
_**How immature -**_ Jasper  
"What? Spin the bottle? You must be kidding, right?" Bella exclaimed.  
_**Why is she so nervous? -**_ Jasper

I looked over at my wife, who was fidgeting with the seem of her dress.  
"Love, are you alright?" I asked as I took her hands into mine to stop her from ruining her dress.  
"It's just...I never played games like this. I wasn't very popular in Phoenix." She said softly.  
"All the more reason to play, little sis!" Emmett boomed as he motioned for us to sit down.  
"But I don't want to kiss you guys! Why can't we play something else?" she asked as she shifted self-consciously on her feet. Suddenly, she looked up and I noticed her eyes shining with mischief. This meant trouble.  
"Jasper, could I speak with you for a moment?" She asked as she walked towards the garage. Jasper followed her soundlessly.  
As they returned, Bella plopped down next to Alice and Jasper had an evil smirk on his face.  
_**Bella is a genius -**_ I heard him think, but he wouldn't think of the reason or anything else she might have said.

Suddenly, Emmett started drysobbing.  
"I am sorry for everything." He said as he took Rosalie's hand in his.  
"I am sorry for checking out that blonde last week." He said as he held his other hand in front of his face.  
_**What blonde? Oh my god! He checked out someone else! Am I not pretty enough? -**_ As she ranted inside her mind, she smacked him at the head.  
_**This is not going like it should! Damn! -**_ Jasper thought, before Emmett stopped sobbing and looked around suspiciously.  
Then all of the sudden, Rose jumped on Emmett and attacked his lips.  
"Let's go upstairs, baby." She whispered against his lips and then they ran off together.  
_**Much better. -**_ Jasper thought  
"Thank God!" Bella exclaimed before bursting out laughing. Jasper winked at her, which only made her laugh harder and he joined in quickly.  
"So, Jasper, do you want to play some chess?" She asked sweetly, before they settled down at the dining table with a chess board.

As I got up to ask her to play with me, Alice grabbed a hold of my hand.  
_**Don't bother. She wants us to play a game together, because we are more even matched due to our abilities. If I had to play with Jasper, I would see all his moves as would you. -**_ She explained to me in her mind.  
I nodded before grabbing another board of chess and we set ourselves down at the kitchen table.  
"So what do you think happened to Emmett back there?" I asked Alice and then we heard Bella and Jasper bursting out into a laughing fit once again.  
_**G****uess that answers your question -**_ She thought and I nodded.  
Ofcourse, Bella would do anything to get out from doing things she didn't like. She had asked Jasper to make him forget about the game by manipulating him.  
"You shouldn't do that to people, Jasper." I whispered, he would hear me anyway. He must have taken my comment patronizing, because all of the sudden I tossed the board to the floor and jumped in front of Alice.  
"You cheat! Why can't you play an honest game for once, Alice! Stay out of my future!" I yelled before kicking over my chair and stalking out of the kitchen. Once I got outside, I could hear the entire house laughing and I knew I had been played.

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Time moved quickly again after that and before we knew it, we were graduated once more and moving to another place.  
Nessie and Jake had returned from their honeymoon in February and Nessie had caught up her school work in no time. A week before graduation she had informed us she was moving to La Push with Jake and after several nights of sobbing Bella and I had reluctantly agreed with them.  
Nessie had promised to visit Charlie often and to keep us informed on his well being. The day she had left with Jake had been an emotional day for all of the Cullens. Nessie had tried to lighten the blow by informing us that she was expecting triplets, but it only made matters worst.

My wife had sobbed for an entire day muttering how she couldn't leave and in being her mother she should move to La Push to help her through the pregnancy. Rosalie had locked herself in her room and refused to come out to hunt for three weeks. Bella had joined her room on the second day after her sobbing had ended and didn't show her face for the same amount of time. Alice had her moments in which she would grab some clothing of Nessie and sniff it constantly. Jasper was rolled up into a ball on the couch under the emotional climate. Emmett and I were constantly banging on the door of his room in an attempt to get out wives out of there. Carlisle spent almost all of his time at the hospital and Esme tried her best to console all of us to no avail.

Today, the day of the move, has been a surprising day. Carlisle kicked in the door to Rose's room and called the entire family up.  
As we stood there, Carlisle decided to finally share the good news.  
"Children, I have spoken to Jake and he has agreed to let us live at La Push. I know you were all expecting for us to move to Alaska today, but we will be going to La Push instead. Although they don't have any mansions there, so each couple will have there own little home. I hope you can all agree to this, because I already accepted his offer." Carlisle didn't have to wait long for his answer as we all cheered and high fived each other.

As we quieted down, he told us another surprising detail.  
"This will be permanent. Some of the La Push population doesn't age as well, so there would be no need for us to move around any more. We will live there for the rest of eternity. Unless you wish to move away on your own accord, but I will spend eternity there." The elation at his words was immense and as we are now driving toward our new homes, I could never thank my wife enough for all the things she has made possible for us. Fighting along with shapeshifters, friendships with said shapeshifters, living alongside them, friends with Children of the Moon, friends with humans, the blessing of a child, the blessing of grandchildren and most importantly the love of my life. Eternity could never be long enough with my love by my side.

As I gaze lovingly into my wife's eyes, she knows exactly what I am thinking and as she opens her shield for me to show me how she feels, I feel my heart beating once more.  
_**- Forever, Edward, Forever –**_

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**THE END**

**REVIEWS PLEASE**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys, **

**I'm sorry to do this.**

**This is NOT a chapter, but for the ongoing stories I will replace this AN with a chapter soon.**

**I put a poll on my profile, giving you the opportunity to chose which story you would prefer to read.**

**It would please me tremendously if you would give me a minute of your time and just vote.**

**As soon as Dale's journey is finished, I will be starting the story that has the most votes.**

**Love y'all and thank you for not chasing me down with sticks for writing this annoying AN.**

**Love,**

**Shirley**


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